


Lean on Me

by citrusyghost



Series: Perhaps Love [3]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angel josh, Angst, Background Meanie - Freeform, Background Soonhoon, Background Verkwan, Backstory, Best Friend Joshua, Blonde Jeonghan, Bullying, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Happy Ending, Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Plot, Potentially Upsetting Themes, Richboy Cheol, Rumours, Slow Burn, Smut, Strangers to Lovers, Sweetheart Cheol, aquarium date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-06-09 02:35:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 72,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15257532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/citrusyghost/pseuds/citrusyghost
Summary: “Choi Seungcheol.” The guy introduces himself, holding his hand out for Jeonghan to take it. It is a friendly and completely non-provoking gesture. Jeonghan doesn’t take it.Instead, he makes a little sound of acknowledgement at the back of his throat and lifts himself gracefully from the couch. He ignores the fact that Seungcheol is staring at him as he picks up his belongings from the room in a leisurely manner. When he is finished, he makes for the door.“Don’t I also get a name?” Seungcheol asks curiously as Jeonghan reaches for the door handle. He’s retracted his hand now and it’s been folded back over his chest. Jeonghan pauses, throwing a mischievous grin in Seungcheol’s direction.“No.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second fic of a series but it is not necessary to read the first one to enjoy this!  
> 

When Jeonghan bribes the floor technician into letting him use studio C04 after hours so he can get some precious shut eye before working through the night, he doesn’t expect to get woken up at 3’something in the morning by the invasive sound of someone unlocking the door. 

He wakes with a sharp inhale, disorientated from the sleep still clinging to his limbs but quickly wills himself alert. Sitting himself up, Jeonghan stills at the sound of the lock twisting, bracing himself for some sort of consequence. (Trespassing during and after hours aren’t taken lightly at Pledis.) 

The light switch is flipped on and Jeonghan’s hand instinctively flies up to shield his eyes from the offensive glare.

“Oh fu-” the person that enters startles at the sight of him, freezing in the doorway. 

It takes a couple of seconds for Jeonghan to adjust to the brightness and when it does, his eyebrows raise ever so slightly. 

“You don’t go here,” he says, gaze is latched onto the person with curiosity. 

He’s immediately relieved that it isn’t school security. Jeonghan doesn’t think the university will let him off again. He sniffs a little remorsefully at the thought. The person who’s entered is the very opposite of school security.

In fact, it’s another student.

Jeonghan eyes said student with growing interest because he isn’t the student he expected to see. He supposes it’ll be weird to even _expect_ a student to be around this late but Pledis has a rumoured genius hermit producer well-hidden amongst its student population. It is a well-known ‘fact’ that genius producer _Woozi_ has an all-access key card and that he never leaves the building. Nobody has actually seen him, which is the root cause of the ridiculous rumour that Woozi is made up and is actually a ghost haunting the music department. Jeonghan knows better.

He knows better because he’s commissioned Woozi to produce a piece for him one assignment. It was perfectly within the marking criteria (mind you). Music students always collaborate and Jeonghan submitted his piece with the signature ‘produced by Woozi’ trademark. However, confirming that Woozi is in fact real just through email (that’s how the transaction was done) wasn’t enough to satisfy Jeonghan’s curiosity so he did the logical thing of tracking him down.

The student currently standing before him, Jeonghan can confirm, looks nothing like the small, sharp-eyed, lithe genius of a music producer Woozi is.

He actually looks wildly different from Woozi. For starters, he’s much bigger. Broad shoulders, strong jawline and substantial arms. His big expressive eyes are currently glued to Jeonghan’s face. No doubt weighing fight or flight options because Jeonghan’s pretty sure this guy was not expecting the studio to be occupied. Jeonghan notices the drawing tablet clutched protectively in the guy’s hands and tries to hide the curve of a smile growing on his lips. This guy isn’t even a music major.

“I have a key,” the guy replies slowly and pulling the last word out like a question.

When Jeonghan cocks a challenging eyebrow, he holds up the keys like its evidence. Jeonghan peels his gaze away from the guys face and eyes the keys curiously. 

“It’s not yours,” his tone a little teasing.

“No,” the guy confesses. He flashes a lopsided, confident smile that Jeonghan doesn’t expect, “it’s not.”  

“I didn’t think anyone would be in here,” the guy continues. He seems to have collected himself from his initial surprise because he pushes his way in and closes the studio door behind him. Jeonghan feels his eyebrows raise slightly as the student proceeds to put his drawing tablet on the computer desk.  _Bold._

“Evidently,” Jeonghan drawls. He watches as the guy proceeds to bend over the computer to turn it on. The not-music-major has on a full black outfit, it looks lazy but good on him. It starts with a simple black hat, continues with a very comfortable looking black hoodie and some black sports tracks and ends with …. _Are those Balenciaga sneakers?_

Jeonghan’s eyes snap to the back of the guy’s head as his mind races through the all the possible ways _this_ student has gotten a key to one of the studios reserved for final year students. He narrows his eyes suspiciously. After a prolonged moment, Jeonghan decides that he’s very likely one of those rich, entitled kids who’ve bought their way into Pledis.

That would explain the complete disregard for school regulation on trespassing and the fearlessness of consequences.

“So…” The guy turns around to peer at Jeonghan over his shoulder, eyes friendly. “What are you doing here so late?” 

“Working,” Jeonghan says as half his body remains reclined on the sofa. He commits a few seconds to memorising the guys face for insurance purposes. 

There’s a brief moment of silence before the guy speaks up again.

“You don’t have a key to the room, do you?” His lips curving into a smile of growing realization. 

“No,” Jeonghan flashes his teeth in a grin, a playful glint in his eye. The guy has turned to face him completely now, wearing on his face a mix of disbelief and amused.

Now that his eyes have had some time to adjust to the previously offensive glare of the ceiling lights, Jeonghan notes a little remorsefully that not-music-major is decidedly very handsome. He wouldn’t say that he is conventionally handsome. On a different person, those individual facial features may not have worked as well but for some unexplained reason, it works on this one.

Jeonghan leans back on the couch he was previously reclined on and ruminates over this information with pursed lips.

It takes him a while to realise the guy is staring at him. Jeonghan’s eyebrows move slightly, asking an unsaid question. _What?_

“What are you doing here then?” The guy laughs, like as if Jeonghan has tickled him. Jeonghan hasn’t. The student leans back on the computer desk and folds his arms over his broad chest. He seems determined to converse with Jeonghan. 

“You’re going to stand there and ask me that?” Jeonghan laughs back, bewildered but entertained. 

“You were here first,” the guy shrugs, a harmless smirk on his face. “In the timeline of rule breakers, you’re the sunbae here.”

Jeonghan can’t hold back the chuckle that erupts from him. His eyes gleam as he plays along, “and who might be the hoobae asking?”

“Choi Seungcheol.” The guy introduces himself, holding his hand out for Jeonghan to take it. It is a friendly and completely non-provoking gesture. Jeonghan doesn’t take it.

Instead, he makes a little sound of acknowledgement at the back of his throat and lifts himself gracefully from the couch. He ignores the fact that Seungcheol is staring at him as he picks up his belongings from the room in a leisurely manner. When he is finished, he makes for the door.

“Don’t I also get a name?” Seungcheol asks curiously as Jeonghan reaches for the door handle. He’s retracted his hand now and it’s been folded back over his chest. Jeonghan pauses, throwing a mischievous grin in Seungcheol’s direction.

“No.”

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol returns Jihoon’s key card to him in the morning like he promised. His laptop had crashed on him five hours into progress on his final project that was due in a few hours. He had called his best friend in desperation, asking for a computer with Photoshop because let’s be real now, the only person who _would_ be awake at 3am was Lee Jihoon.

He wasn’t expecting anyone to be in the studio Jihoon had told him to go to, especially after being informed that he could pull an all-nighter in there. Jihoon was always careful about these things, his studio access was on the line after all.

So, when Seungcheol casually mentions the frighteningly beautiful guy that was reclined on the couch in studio C04, Jihoon is disconcerted. Seungcheol doesn’t actually say the words ‘frighteningly beautiful’ though, Jihoon doesn’t need to know.

“Who?” Jihoon’s brow furrows so hard Seungcheol almost regrets mentioning it. He laughs it off as nothing, waving his hand as if to clear the metaphorical air but Jihoon has latched onto the topic now.   

“Uh…” Seungcheol says stupidly and Jihoon asks him ‘ _Who?_ ’ about six more times. The smaller boy sounds like an owl and Seungcheol holds an affectionate coo at the tip of his tongue.

“He didn’t tell me his name,” he shrugs instead, not forgetting to throw in an apologetic smile.

“Describe him,” Jihoon insists, abandoning his work in favour of leaning as far over his chair as he possibly can to press his face in Seungcheol’s space.

“He’s uh…” Seungcheol begins, tapping his chin thoughtfully, “tall but not Mingyu tall.”

“Use your words,” Jihoon says, frustrated.

“He’s kind of pretty-looking.” _Horrifying beautiful_ , Seungcheol thinks to himself. He nearly wet himself when he saw him in C04. Seungcheol doesn’t think he’s ever been so floored at someone’s… well, someone’s face. That sounds terribly shallow but it’s true. He’s thankful he had his drawing tablet clutched to his chest because his heart was pounding like a drum. It doesn’t help that the little interaction they had only left Seungcheol feeling extremely unsatisfied. Like he’d been shown a full course meal and then been disallowed from being anywhere near it. 

“He’s blonde, mid-length hair… Falls on his face like this,” Seungcheol makes hand gestures in front of his face. He’s picturing the guy in his mind and it only makes his gut twist in mild regret for letting him go without getting a name.

Jihoon’s brow stops furrowing for a second, face falling in realization before he narrows his eyes.

“ _Yoon Jeonghan_.”

Seungcheol’s ears perk up at the words and his gut stops regretting. It is a pretty name.  

“Figures,” Jihoon sighs after a moment, resigned. “He _would_.”

“Would he?” Seungcheol is intrigued.

Jihoon shoots Seungcheol a very pointed look and repeats.

“ _He would_.”

 

* * *

 

The only time after that that Seungcheol sees Jeonghan again, is the last week of semester. His finals are all handed in and there is a pocket of time (a week of limbo if you will) before the semester ends and summer begins. For someone who doesn’t actually have scholastic reasons for being in the music department, he’s here a whole lot.

He’s always here because of Jihoon, of course. They have a routine of spending time with each other just hanging out in Jihoon’s studio. Sometimes, Jihoon lends Seungcheol a computer so he can work in peace, away from the crowded, stuffy IT suite that the graphic kids have to constantly fight over. Seungcheol is always grateful. The music department has mostly emptied out now. Most students are either at home for summer or really, out having fun in the sun. Seungcheol is staying around campus for baseball club reasons and Jihoon’s home is ages away so they’re both stuck together for summer.

Seungcheol jingles some change in his hand as he rounds the corner to the vending machine he’s grown familiar with. He wonders if he should have a green tea instead of his usual black coffee but that mundane decision making comes to a halt when he spots Jeonghan standing thoughtfully in front of the vending machine, lips pursed.  

It takes a moment but the blonde feels someone behind him and stops what he’s doing to look at Seungcheol. His eyes flash with recognition and a small smile pulls at his lips. Seungcheol feels silly butterflies in his stomach at the smile and decides that he didn’t come prepared. He has to steel himself.

“For someone who doesn’t actually go here, you’re here a lot.” Jeonghan tilts his head slightly, a picture of angelic innocence.

“I am?” Seungcheol quirks a questioning eyebrow, smile already on his lips.

Jeonghan makes a little _hmmm_ noise and directs his attention back to the vending machine. Seungcheol walks over to where the blonde stands and waits behind him. In-line, like a civilised adult. With Jeonghan’s back turned to him, Seungcheol finds himself appreciating little details like his unpierced ears and a little mole just shy of his cheekbone. Seungcheol presses his lips together, a little embarrassed with himself. He rocks on his heels for a second and then decides that Jeonghan is taking too long to buy a drink.

He peers curiously over Jeonghan’s shoulder to see him pushing the buttons on the vending machine in a cryptic pattern. It seems routine, the number pressing. It is casual and thoughtless. Jeonghan even does it in a little rhythm, unfazed by Seungcheol’s now obvious observing. It is odd and Seungcheol is confused. There doesn’t seem to be any credit in the machine and there definitely isn’t a card in the card holder.

“What are yo-” Seungcheol begins to ask when he’s interrupted by the sound of a drink dispensing. He jerks his head back in surprise.

“Assa!” Jeonghan cheers, bending down to retrieve his drink. It is a carton of _strawberry milk_. Seungcheol watches wide eyed as Jeonghan pokes a straw through the top of the carton before bringing it to his lips. Jeonghan sips at the pink liquid and looks at Seungcheol through his blonde locks, the ones that fall on his forehead.

“You…” Seungcheol starts but his voice trails off _. Did Jeonghan just **scam** the vending machine?_

The look Jeonghan gives him is gently patronizing but the soft smile attached to it has Seungcheol forgiving it quickly. He stands there dumbly as Jeonghan pats his shoulder before skipping off.

                                                                                               

* * *

 

The excitement of summer sweeps Seungcheol up into a whirlwind of multiple events, all of which do very little to stop him from thinking about Yoon Jeonghan and his smile.

He throws five parties and of the five, two have been labelled legendary. Seungcheol is still getting tagged in random photos of drunk students on his property. There’s picture evidence of someone spilling wine on his favourite shirt at the _Office Party_ and makes Seungcheol a little sad. But the picture of Mingyu completely wasted, half-naked and tie around his forehead as he lies on Seungcheol’s lawn hugging one of the inflatable pool floats makes Seungcheol feel better. There were always pros and cons to these things.

Seungcheol also managed to get Jihoon a part-time job at a convenient store. He went into that conversation pitch with a long list of reasons why it would be good for Jihoon to not malfunction due to a vitamin d deficiency. It went surprisingly well and Jihoon has grown interestingly fond of the place. His best friend has been working there for months now. He still feels a massive swell of pride in his chest when he thinks about it. Seungcheol’s also been crowned captain of the baseball team so all in all, it’s been pretty wild.

It’s not _quite_ as wild as this party he’s currently trying to navigate through though. Seungcheol’s spent the past hour trying to make it to his fridge (which is literally 20m away) but has been stopped for friendly claps on his back, catch up conversations and just talking in general. When he sent out invites for a back-to-uni party he really didn’t expect this many people to show up. It’s probably a happy(?) consequence of the two legendary parties. He’s already had to order two extra batches of pizza but he really isn’t complaining. There’s nothing that makes him quite as happy than to be surrounded by people he loves having fun.

Speaking of the people he loves, he’s managed to convince Jihoon to come to this monstrosity of a party. Seungcheol makes an apologetic face to nobody in particular when he thinks of Jihoon sitting somewhere in this massively crowded house and decides to go look for him, ice cold beer in hand. He squeezes his way through dancing bodies and friendly faces to the living room where he last remembers seeing Jihoon.

What he doesn’t expect to see, is Jeonghan standing over Jihoon (who is sat on the arm of his couch looking exceptionally tiny as the blonde towers over him). Jeonghan has a devious smile pulling at his lips.

Seungcheol blinks twice, wondering if he’s just imagined the blonde to be standing in his living room in the midst of the student crowd. It’s been months, the whole summer actually, since he last saw Jeonghan and memories of him and his little vending machine scam is still fresh in Seungcheol’s mind. Seungcheol’s gone back to the same vending machine and spent hours trying to see if he can remember Jeonghan’s number pattern but to no avail. Every failed attempt only served to make him more determined to meet Jeonghan again.

His eyes flick from Jeonghan to Jihoon and back to Jeonghan again. His natural posture of relaxed confidence falters a little; which is hilarious because this is his house, his turf, his domain. The one place he’s meant to feel comfortable and here he was being unsettled by a boy he’s spoken to about twice. There was something about Jeonghan that unnerved him. It kept him on edge and seemed to coax him back every time he felt he was going to tilt over. Alright, he’s not making any sense whatsoever but that’s exactly what he’s trying to explain: Jeonghan’s effect on him.

Seungcheol brings his beer to his lips and takes a swig of it, eyes trained on the blonde. Jeonghan is surely a music major, of that Seungcheol is sure. He tries to think of other things he knows about Jeonghan but doesn’t come up with much. He’s in the middle of deciding how to rectify the situation when he notices Jihoon looking less than comfortable with Jeonghan’s presence. He vaguely recalls the resigned sigh Jihoon breathed when talking about Jeonghan and suddenly Seungcheol’s legs are propelling him forward.

He reaches the pair in a few long strides and manages to slot himself right in-between the two, like an iron wall.

“Yoon Jeonghan,” Seungcheol tests the name on his tongue, voice steady and protective. Jeonghan’s never actually formally introduced himself to him so he’s never had reason to use his name. If Jeonghan is wondering how Seungcheol knows his name, he doesn’t show it.

“What devious plan do you have with my ward and how may I be of some assistance?” Seungcheol doesn’t mean to sound teasing or cautious but somehow it comes out as both. Seeing Jeonghan up close again does things to his heart. _Like damn_. Is anyone else at this party looking at the guy? Seungcheol wants to glance around to confirm that he isn’t the only person affected by this, but he cannot find it in himself to look away.

  
“Choi Seungcheol,” Jeonghan says slowly, deliberately, eyes locking onto Seungcheol’s. Seungcheol takes a small intake of breath, completely involuntary. He decides there and then he likes how his name sounds when Jeonghan says it and would very much like him to say it again.

The blonde brings a hand up to cradle his face as he tilts it to the side.

“I didn’t know he was under you care,” Jeonghan plays along like Seungcheol knew he would. Jeonghan momentarily breaks eye contact with Seungcheol to smile sweetly at Jihoon. The smile is arrestingly beautiful and Seungcheol wishes it was directed at him. “I was just curious, I haven’t seen Jihoon in a while.”

“How about we-” Seungcheol begins, mind running through suggestions to maybe, prolong conversation but he’s cut off by a soft, firm voice.

“ _Hannie_ ," 

Seungcheol and Jeonghan both turn to look at the owner of the voice. _Hannie?_

“Joshuji!” Jeonghan chirps happily, linking his hand around the boy _. Joshuji?_

Seungcheol doesn’t think that’s his real name but he’s wasn’t going to judge if it happens to be. The boy that’s interrupted them has a soft, ethereal feel to him that Seungcheol can’t quite place. He looks like he’d been fashioned from good-intention and grace. He also looks the kind of guy that would know how to play Sunday Morning by heart. It is significantly different from Jeonghan’s blindingly intimidating beauty.

“Hey Jihoon,” _Joshuji_ smiles, “Vernon’s out back by the ping pong table. He told me to tell you he wants a rematch.” He pauses for a moment to smile at Seungcheol and Seungcheol wonders exactly who these beautiful boys are and how they found their way to his party.

“Thanks,” Jihoon’s voice comes from behind Seungcheol. He’s almost forgotten about Jihoon altogether.

“Come on,” _Joshuji_ says softly to Jeonghan, nudging him away from Seungcheol and Jihoon.

“Aww, let me just-” Jeonghan whines, voice a little higher than usual as he gets dragged away. Seungcheol watches as the pair disappear into the crowd and wonders if he should go after them. Introduce himself, perhaps. This after all is his house. And he takes pride in being a good host. He shoul-

Jihoon clears his throat and Seungcheol snaps out of it.

“He knows,” Jihoon says matter-of-factly.

“He kno- What!” Seungcheol furrows his brow. He flashes back briefly to the conversation he watched Jihoon exchange with Jeonghan and suddenly feels worried. There aren’t many people in Pledis who know that Jihoon is _Woozi_ and as far as Seungcheol knows, Jihoon would like to keep it that way.

“How does he know?” Seungcheol’s face is the dictionary definition of concerned, already mourning his attraction to the blonde.

“It was an accident.” Jihoon shrugs, “He doesn’t seem to have told anyone though.”

“Huh,” Seungcheol says thoughtfully, blinking in the direction Jeonghan was dragged away. He feels a wave of relief that he can continue to quietly pine but more than that, he feels like there’s a little more to Jeonghan than he’d previously thought.

“Yup.” Jihoon nods.

 

* * *

 

“We said we’d leave him alone,” Joshua says as soon as they’re out of sight from Jihoon. His voice is gentle but there’s a hint of reprimanding that Jeonghan picks up on from years of practice. He makes a defiant noise in response, eyes looking everywhere but at Joshua. He reaches for an unopened can of beer sitting on a counter.

“ _You_ said you’d leave him alone,” he sniffs indignantly, opening the can. “I just wanted to say hi. I haven’t seen him in so long. Since like, last whole year.” He waves his free hand for emphasis.

“Mmhmm,” Joshua smiles knowingly, shaking his head when Jeonghan pushes the beer at him in question. “You said hi when you tracked him down by his student ID.”

“To give him food,” Jeonghan gasps, affronted and retracting his beer offer, “to say thank you for writing our song!”

At Joshua’s deliberate silence, Jeonghan crosses his hands over his chest.

Joshua chuckles, shrugging.

“Ok I didn’t think we’d see him here either,” Joshua gives, eyes crinkling in a smile. “I’ve never seen him outside of the studios.” His voice hints at his playful nature.

Jeonghan giggles into his beer for a moment before deciding to hide behind Joshua as he peers back into the room they’d just left.

“I can’t see him, he’s so small,” Jeonghan whispers, straining his neck whilst Joshua stands there and lets himself be climbed like a tree. He even helps hold Jeonghan’s beer like the sweetheart he strives to be.

It was Joshua that invited Jeonghan to this party. And it was Vernon (Joshua’s childhood friend from back home), who had asked Joshua to come. Vernon is nowhere to be seen and Jeonghan hasn’t actually seen him since he high-fived Joshua at the start of the party.

Jeonghan cannot say he’s that big a fan of parties, he’s had some real nasty hangovers that have just about scared him off ever drinking again. He thinks this to himself as he sips at his beer, unfazed by irony. He was ready to turn Joshua down in favour of lounging in bed but then Seokmin asked him to the exact same party and it was starting to seem as if everyone was going to be here. He wasn’t going to pass up on that.

When they arrive at the address, Jeonghan stands with his mouth slightly agape at the house. It is _lush_. There’s a whole ass garden in front of the house and a drive way. Jeonghan is pretty sure there’s a pool somewhere behind and he scrunches up his face in disbelief.

“Is this a student house?” He asks Joshua, tone cracking a little above average, “This is not a student house.” He decides for himself. “We’re leaving. I’m not drinking up whilst someone’s mother watches me pummel my liver into the ground. If I’m going to be lying in a ditch somewhere, I want it to be _very_ far away from parental supervision.”

Joshua snorts a laugh at that, ignoring him in favour of thanking their uber driver and wishing him a safe drive back.

“Seriously,” Jeonghan raises his eyebrows, tone demanding an answer.

“I’m pretty sure Choi Seungcheol’s parents _aren’t_ in there, so you can pummel your liver for all anyone cares, but I won’t stand for you lying in a ditch.” Joshua finishes teasingly like as if he just didn’t OK Jeonghan a bitch-ass hangover. That’s not what Jeonghan’s concerned about now though.

 _Choi Seungcheol huh_.

 

* * *

 

Seokmin finds Jeonghan and Joshua where they’re stood huddled in a corner and excitedly informs them that there’s a karaoke machine. ‘ _Next someone is going to tell me the guy has a goddamn in-house theatre_ ’, Jeonghan sniffs to himself as Seokmin latches onto him. They agree to have a few rounds of singing though, only because Jeonghan is curious about this machine and because he has a public soft spot for Seokmin.

They’re in one of the rooms singing their lungs out. Seokmin is harmonizing with every single person he possibly can and Jeonghan busies himself videoing it down. He watches Joshua sing a girl group song with Seokmin and Seungkwan and laughs himself into a stich when Seokmin and Seungkwan start crumping. They scare off a few non-music majors and Jeonghan revels in it.

“This is _our territory_ now,” Seungkwan announces, twirling and making an exaggerated face before squatting and jumping back up. Jeonghan laughs so hard he heaves and has to sit down for a second.

“I can’t,” he manages, breathless and shaking his head at Seokmin who is wiggling his way over to coax Jeonghan back up.

“I need to sit down,” Jeonghan insists, already seated, “maybe take a nap.”

“Hyung your age is showing,” Seungkwan teases but Jeonghan waves a hand of surrender, falling into another fit of giggles when Seokmin starts dancing up on him.

“I need a drink,” Jeonghan shakes his head, “ _another_ drink.” He playfully shoves Seokmin off him and looks to Joshua.

“Let’s go,” Joshua nods easily, handing his mic to Seungkwan.

“I can’t keep up with them,” Jeonghan wheezes when they leave the room, hand over his chest. Joshua laughs in agreement.

“I don’t know where they get all that energy from.” Jeonghan continues, raising his voice as the crowd around them seems to only get louder, “It’s the shots you gave them, I told you not to give _children_ alc-”

Jeonghan’s sentence gets cut off when he slams his face into something hard and warm. It jolts him and he loses his balance, falling onto a warm human weight and taking it down with him. He hears Joshua exclaim at him mid-fall but he’s too busy trying not to fall wrongly onto the floor, limbs a mess.

“What the fuc-” Jeonghan exclaims when he and the human weight hit the floor with an unceremonious thud. There is consensus gasping and the once noisy room now quietens to soft murmuring. He hears someone groan beneath him and he struggles to push himself up.

“Are you oka- Ow, ow, ow” The person below him starts but quickly grimaces when Jeonghan jams a hand onto his stomach to try and leverage himself back up.

“Oops,” Jeonghan removes his hand immediately, apologetically. He struggles to remove his other hand from under the person.

“You’re lying on my,” Jeonghan gasps, struggling a little before looking up to shoot the person an exasperated look. He stills, eyes widening because Choi Seungcheol is staring at him from beneath him, eyes equally wide and lips slightly apart. Jeonghan’s eyes flick from Seungcheol’s face to his chest, where Jeonghan had slammed his face into. _Oh._

“My hand,” Jeonghan finishes, swallowing. He’s trying not to focus too hard on Seungcheol’s very firm, broad shoulders so his eyes flick to Seungcheol’s stomach but Jeonghan quickly regrets that too because he’s greeted with a perfectly toned torso. _O h._

“Sorry,” Seungcheol says-whispers and sounding a little breathless. Jeonghan opens his mouth to reply but he’s flipped on his back in one swift motion, locked under Seungcheol’s body. His hand is now free but it’s no use because he’s completely trapped. Jeonghan stares at Seungcheol, eyes wide and slightly questioning.

The moment is brief. Seungcheol’s face is inches from him, staring at him with an unreadable expression. Jeonghan blinks back, trying to decide how he feels about this suggestive position. He notes that Seungcheol is covered in a light sheen of sweat, which really, should be off putting especially when he’s stuck underneath him but who knew this was exactly up Jeonghan’s alley. Guess that decides how he feels about the position. Seungcheol’s tongue darts out briefly, licking his bottom lip as the pair remain unmoving.

Then the moment is over.

Seungcheol pushes himself off Jeonghan in one languid movement, picking him up as he does. The firm grip of Seungcheol’s hand lingers long after he’s let Jeonghan’s arm go.

“Were you just…?” Jeonghan’s face is teasing, a smile curving up his lips. Seungcheol laughs, embarrassed. He’s rubbing the back of his neck and Jeonghan chides himself for finding the action kind of cute.

“I was uh,” Seungcheol glances around the room, a shy grin on his face, “I was challenged to pull ups.”

Jeonghan raises his brows and follows Seungcheol’s line of sight to the door frame he was previously hanging from. A snort escapes Jeonghan’s lips and he brushes himself off. Someone in the room yells a rematch and Jeonghan crinkles his nose. He looks around the room and stills when he realizes that multiple sets of eyes are trained on him. Joshua steps forward from where he’d been standing, _watching_ , and puts a hand on Jeonghan’s shoulder.

“You ok?” He asks softly. Jeonghan nods, still looking at Seungcheol. The room has started to buzz back to an acceptable party-volume and people are resuming conversation.

“You any good?” Joshua smiles at Seungcheol, eliciting a surprised laugh from the dark-haired boy. Jeonghan watches their interaction quietly but no less attentively.

“Not really,” Seungcheol shrugs with an embarrassed smile, “Mingyu is way better than I.” He jerks his head towards the tall, handsome boy leaning against the wall talking to a shorter boy with glasses. Jeonghan begs to differ but he keeps it to himself.;

“He’s modest too,” Joshua gasps playfully, looking at Jeonghan. The look on Seungcheol’s face makes the blonde chuckle. It’s funny how he manages to look completely clueless and pleased at the same time. 

“We’ll leave you to it,” Jeonghan waves a hand at the crowd in the room before walking off with Joshua.

When he stops to steal a backwards glance, he finds Seungcheol still looking at them.  

 

* * *

 

 

They escape outside to the backyard for some fresh air. Yes, backyard.

And just like Jeonghan mocked in the beginning, there’s a pool.

Jeonghan eyes it with disbelief. He looks at Joshua, then to the pool and then mouths a _what the hell_? Joshua only chuckles, shrugging his shoulders.

“Maybe we should have brought swimwear?” Joshua offers, both hands in front of him.

“No need for that,” Jeonghan announces, “I’m going to be swimming in alcohol by the time the night ends.” He marches right up to the make-shift bar table at the corner and proceeds to make himself a drink. “Someone explain this to me,” he says, voice purposely loud and probably meaning to embarrass.

“Shhh,” Joshua covers Jeonghan’s mouth with a graceful hand before he can say anything incriminating. Jeonghan’s speech muffles and he struggles in his best friend’s grasp before going slack and licking Joshua’s fingers.

“No,” Joshua chides with a gasp, removing his hand immediately with a look of horror. Jeonghan grins and makes a little triumphant twirl before his eyes turn serious. “Who _is_ he?”

“What are you on about,” Joshua is wiping his hand on his jeans, sighing.

“Who is _Choi Seungcheol_?” Jeonghan clarifies, pouring vodka into a plastic cup. “Why does he have this large _not_ -student house? Why is there a front yard?” He gestures dramatically, “and a backyard.” He waves his hand in a circle, addressing his immediate surroundings. “And a… boooooddyyy of water.” He finishes gleefully, punctuating his sentence with a huge gulp of his drink.

“You mean a pool,” Joshua’s face is a picture of indifference but his eyes say otherwise. He watches Jeonghan with amusement and fondness.

“Yes,” Jeonghan nods, pointing to it, “a pool.” He looks at it and then to Joshua and then he stumbles a little. "Swimming _fool_." He giggles.

“Woah there,” Joshua is immediately holding Jeonghan, supporting him. “I think you’ve had enough to drink.” He says with a little chortle.

“No, I’m going to drink all of this rich boy’s alcohol,” Jeonghan insists, lips pressed together. Joshua stills at that and Jeonghan stares at him with determination. Then, Joshua’s face softens, the initial disapproval he had melting away from something of sympathy. Jeonghan holds a finger up.

“No,” the blonde sniffs, aiming to cut Joshua’s train of thought off. 

Joshua holds his tongue.

“Alright then.” He says after a pause, “Let’s drain him dry.” Joshua grins agreeably.

Jeonghan clasps his hands together gleefully before turning back to the table to make both of them drinks. He’s in the middle of pouring cranberry juice into his vodka when Vernon makes an appearance.

“Josh!” Vernon pulls the older boy into an embrace and Jeonghan peers over his shoulder. He notes the younger boy and gleefully pulls out another empty plastic cup. 

“Where have you been?” Joshua laughs, shaking his head, “Join us. _That_ one is making drinks. Hey- Hannie, go easy.”

“Mmhmm~,” Jeonghan replies cheerily, pouring more vodka into his cup.

“Did you catch Jihoon for ping pong?” Joshua asks conversationally and Vernon begins to tell him rather animatedly how that specific match went. Jeonghan tunes out when the pair switch to English, wondering if he should also make some shots.

“Hey,” someone says a little too close to Jeonghan. He flinches backwards to look at the person. It’s a guy he’s never seen before. He looks a little drunk but not drunk enough to not know what he’s doing.

“Hey,” Jeonghan replies easily despite his discomfort. He moves a little to give him space but the guy doesn’t take it.

“I know who you are,” the guy drawls out, his breath at Jeonghan’s ear. It makes him shrink away slightly but the guy reaches out to grasp his arm. “How about we go somewhere and you can-” 

“Excuse me,” Joshua intercepts the guy, his voice is friendly but his eyes aren’t. He’s got a hand on the guy’s, prying it off Jeonghan. “Can I help?”

“You a fuckboy too?” the guy eyes Joshua up and down.

Jeonghan sees a flash of anger in Joshua’s eyes but it disappears as quickly as it appears. He swallows, forcing out a laugh. He makes to move forward to say something but Joshua holds him back with a gentle but extremely firm grip. Vernon is standing beside him, eyes trained on the guy and frowning.

“My friends are I are going to go over there,” Joshua says, enunciating each word with purpose, “and you are not going to follow us.” Jeonghan sees his best friend exhale slowly before giving the guy a tight, polite smile. Then he is dragged away by Joshua.

“Come on, Vern,” Joshua signals with his head at the younger boy and he follows the two older ones away from the make-shift bar.

When they’re well out of sight from the guy, Joshua takes the cup of alcohol that Jeonghan is holding and downs it. Jeonghan and Vernon exchange a look. Joshua gives the now empty cup back to Jeonghan (who pouts a little at it) and inhales a deep breath.

“I want to dance,” he announces firmly, shooting a look at Jeonghan to join him.

“ _Yessssssssss_ ,” Jeonghan throws his head back and pumps a little fist in the air.

“Did someone say dance?” a familiar voice calls from behind them and all three of them turn in its direction.

“Seungkwan!” Jeonghan coos, throwing himself into the arms of the younger boy. “Where’s Seokmin?”

“Oh, Vernon, this is Seungkwan.” Joshua waves his hand from Vernon to Seungkwan, then back again. “And, Seungkwan, Vernon. You guys are the same age!”

Jeonghan peers at Seungkwan’s face curiously because younger boy has frozen up beneath is embrace. He looks at Joshua, who’s now got a confused but amused expression on his face. Vernon and Seungkwan are staring at each other stupidly and Jeonghan detaches himself from Seungkwan in favour of standing next to Joshua to whisper, “Are you seeing this?”

“Uh, hey.” Vernon clears his throat to hold out a hand in Seungkwan’s direction.

“Hi,” Seungkwan smiles albeit shyly, taking it.

Jeonghan smacks Joshua on his shoulder multiple times like the subtle gentleman he is.

“Let’s dance!” Jeonghan cheers gleefully, shoving the two together and grabbing Joshua to dance with him. Joshua shoots him a reprimanding look but goes along with the ride. They spend most of the time whispering and gushing about how Vernon and Seungkwan interact with each other.

“I have a feeling they’ve met before,” Joshua cocks his head thoughtfully. Jeonghan gasps exaggeratedly at the comment.

“Wild,” his whispers, wagging his eyebrows up and down. Joshua shoves at him playfully and they spend what seems like hours just dancing with each other, with _verkwan_ (Jeonghan decides to name the pair) close by. Even Seokmin finds himself in the middle of this growingly adorable dance party and he brings with him Soonyoung, his dance major friend. Together they create little dance circle. Jeonghan laughs so much his face hurts. His head is swimming a little, no doubt that bitch-ass hangover Joshua had allowed him to have is making its way forward. He has a hand on Joshua’s arm as he decides to do away with his cup.

“We good?” Joshua raises his eyebrows at his best friend and Jeonghan nods cooperatively.

“I’m going to,” Jeonghan hiccups, “go to the loo.”

“Ok let’s go,” Joshua makes to go with Jeonghan but the blonde shakes his head, pushing Joshua away.

“Noo, no,” Jeonghan insists, patting Joshua’s head, “You stay and have fun. I’m gona be reaaaaaaaal quick.”

Joshua makes an unimpressed face but he doesn’t make to go after Jeonghan. The blonde takes a few steps away from him and pauses to say, “Stay.” 

 _I know_ , Joshua mouths, rolling his eyes but they are a little concerned.

Jeonghan looks back about five more times just to make sure that Joshua is not following him and every time he does he sees Joshua staring back at him, hands on his hips as if to say _go on then_. Jeonghan giggles and weaves through the crowd that has now started to move outside to find a bathroom. He wanders through the house, now quite a mess with plastic cups, all sorts of trash on the floor. Jeonghan purses his lips at a wasted pizza slice fallen onto the floor.

He opens about four different doors to look for a bathroom. One of which was a broom closet with a very drunk and horny couple making out in. Jeonghan’s eyes widen and he makes a sheepish face, closing it quickly. He finds the bathroom after much struggling through the crowd and the multiple doors in the house. Like, why does this house have so many doors?

The bathroom he finds is upstairs and thankfully, unoccupied. Whilst in there he decides that he’s had enough alcohol because the floor is moving and the basin is on the ceiling. He laughs to himself as he makes his way back out to where Joshua is. He’s almost back to the cute dance circle of people he really likes when someone blocks his view.

It’s the guy that approached him before. Jeonghan’s blood runs a little cold.

“There you are,” the guy grins, inching closer to Jeonghan. “You’re not going to run away again, are you?” Jeonghan makes to move out of his way but the guy reaches behind him and grabs his ass. The feeling of sick that had been building up inside him threatens to explode over.

“Don’t touch me,” Jeonghan shoves the guy’s hand away firmly, eyes flashing. The guy stumbles backwards with an offended glare.

“Did you just,” he starts, head tilting to the side in an intimidating way that makes Jeonghan feel like running away. His legs though, seem to be planted completely firmly to the floor beneath him, against his will.

“Did you just shove at me?” the guy questions, tone mocking and threatening. Jeonghan swallows and clenches his fists. His mind is racing and his flight reflexes are screeching at him to move but he stays where he is. Jeonghan feels the motion before he sees it. Two large arms shoving at him till he falls backwards. He expects to feel the floor and the hard impact but instead, he feels the icy cold of water enveloping his body.

 _Ah, the pool_ , he thinks to himself.  

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol and everyone around him turn their heads towards the pool when they hear someone yell. The angry yell is followed by a loud splash and Seungcheol is already pushing past the crowd to get to the centre of the commotion. He freezes at the sight of Jeonghan submerged in his pool and his eyes snap to the guy standing next to the edge of it.

“What’s going on here?” The words spill out of his lips. A general question to everyone who’s watching and not doing anything. Nobody replies him. Seungcheol spots Joshu _ji_ push past the crowd from the corner of his eyes. The leaner boy has on a well-controlled look of mild panic on his face and it sends a jolt of discomfort up Seungcheol’s spine.

Jeonghan’s head bops up the surface of the water comically but Seungcheol does not find it funny. In fact, he bristles at the way Jeonghan seems to find this amusing. They’re the centre of everyone’s attention and the air is heavy with tension. Tension that Seungcheol doesn’t comprehend and it frustrates him.

Deciding to deal with what he can first, Seungcheol drops to his knees to bend over to grab at Jeonghan’s shoulder. He pulls the blonde, soaked, boy out of his pool in one controlled movement. Jeonghan looks at him through his wet bangs, water droplets running down his cheeks. He has a smile on his face that Seungcheol cannot place and he doesn’t say anything, choosing to busy himself ruffling the water out of his hair.

Seungcheol takes a tentative step towards Jeonghan, unsure. It is a silent question: _are you okay?_

The smile is still on Jeonghan’s face when he looks up at Seungcheol but it doesn’t reach his eyes. It scares Seungcheol a little. He feels a sudden surge of protectiveness over the blonde and it is followed closely by brewing anger.  

Seungcheol spins to square the guy up, jaw tensing and eyes flashing.

“If you have a problem, let’s take it outside.” He says evenly but there’s a dangerous bite to it, “I would like to deal with this in a civil manner.”

“I didn’t do shit man,” the guy puts both his hands up in quick defence. Seungcheol’s gaze hardens. Joshu _ji_ is next to Jeonghan now, saying something too soft for Seungcheol to hear. Every second that pulls past only makes it more difficult for Seungcheol to remain calm.

“I think you should go.” Seungcheol says to the guy, voice low. When the guy doesn’t move, Seungcheol just about growls. “ ** _Now_**.”

From the corner of his eye, he sees Jeonghan staring at him but Seungcheol trains his eyes on the guy until he backs off with an incoherent mutter, seeing himself out. It is only when the guy is out of sight does Seungcheol relax slightly, turning to Jeonghan with a furrowed brow.

“What happened?” He asks quickly, voice shaking a little from anger. “Did he hurt you?”

“I fell.” Jeonghan says with a nonchalant shrug, looking Seungcheol right in his eye. Something about it doesn’t sit well with Seungcheol but he cannot identify what. The hardened expression that Joshu _ji_ is sporting tells Seungcheol Jeonghan didn’t fall in.

The crowd that has gathered around them has started whispering. Seungcheol sighs. Pledis has an awful gossiping reputation and it’s been one that Seungcheol has managed to stay very far removed from. Now that it’s rearing its ugly head right in front of him, it’s a bit difficult to ignore.

Seungcheol hears someone whisper ‘ _cursed prince’_ and he stills. _What?_ He turns to the direction of the voice but everyone is looking at him and no one is saying anything anymore. He turns back to Jeonghan and the blonde has on an indifferent expression. Seungcheol turns back to the crowd, confused and frowning. He sees Mingyu in the crowd with the other baseball boys. His junior’s handsome face is twisted with worry. Seungcheol manages to offer him a small shake of his head, _it’s okay._ He turns back to where Jeonghan is standing with Joshu _ji_ and gestures to his house.

“I have towels inside,” he says softly, “I have fresh clothes you can borrow too if you like.”

“Thank you, but I think we’re going to head home” Joshu _ji_ cuts him off but it is not unkind. Seungcheol watches the boy shrug his jacket off to put it on Jeonghan. The blonde shivers a little.

“I’m sorry,” Seungcheol says to them both, unsure of what to do really. Joshu _ji_ shakes his head at Seungcheol, an effort to relinquish Seungcheol from any responsibility. Jeonghan looks down at his clothes and makes a little disappointed noise.

Is he… is he really focusing on his _clothes_ right now? 

Seungcheol watches as the pair take their leave, Joshu _ji_ giving Seungcheol a small smile as he ushers Jeonghan away. Jeonghan makes an exaggerate face, mouth pulling at the sides like he’s upset the other boy is taking him home.

“Cheol?” a tentative but familiar voice calls to Seungcheol and he turns to see his best friend looking at him with concern. He takes a sobering inhale before smiling at the crowd.

“It’s fine guys, I’m sorry.” He says, “It’s okay, don’t worry.” He holds his hands up at the concerned faces watching him. He walks up to Jihoon, thankful for his presence and drapes an arm over the smaller boy.

“It’s nothing,” he whispers easily with a grin at Jihoon’s questioning gaze. He pushes the younger boy towards the house, away from the crowd.

“Let’s get a drink and then get on that Karaoke machine because the boy with the lungs has been hogging it for too long.” 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Joshua pushes his way into his flat and closes the door as quietly as he can when he realizes that Jeonghan is still at home. He notes his best friend’s favourite pair of sneakers still neatly lined up on the shoe rack and presses his lips together in thought. He’s back from his usual Sunday morning routine and Jeonghan usually isn’t at home when he gets back. He’s usually out for a walk.

Padding quietly to the kitchen to deposit the groceries he’d picked up, he turns the radio on and the volume down. It doesn’t take long for his flatmate to emerge from his room. What Joshua doesn’t expect is for him to be wrapped up in his blanket when he does.

“Good morning,” Joshua smiles at him, unfazed by the irritated glare Jeonghan throws at the radio. It has little bite to it.

“Hungry?” Joshua asks, opening the fridge and putting away the fruits he’s just bought. Jeonghan makes a small noise at the back of his throat, collapsing onto one of the kitchen stools. Joshua reaches for Jeonghan’s favourite strawberry milk and pours the blonde a glass.

The pair share a moment of silence as Jeonghan drinks the liquid wordlessly and Joshua washes some grapes.

The flat is quiet, save for the whirling of the fan and the sound of the kitchen sink so when Jeonghan lets loose an unrestrained sneeze, it resounds through the house. The sneeze is forceful enough that it jerks the table in front of Jeonghan.

“Excuse you,” Joshua snorts a surprised but affectionate laugh when his best friend shivers and pulls his blanket closer around his body.

“We should have taken his towels.” Joshua muses. It elicits a cheeky laugh from Jeonghan, the previous irritated frown he’d been wearing melting off his face in an instant.

“We should have taken _all_ his towels.” Jeonghan corrects, grinning.

 

* * *

 

 

To be completely honest, Seungcheol hadn’t intended for himself to be lying in his bed scrolling through the few hundred photos he’s been tagged in from last night’s party looking for a glimpse of Jeonghan. The unsettling incident at the pool weighed heavy on his mind and all that singing and mindless dancing that he’d partaken in after the blonde left didn’t do very much to ease his mind.

He’s running on concern and curiosity, he tells himself, as he opens up his social media. Seungcheol wasn’t much for the social media life. His profiles always looked active because he was constantly being tagged in things but it’s kind of always overwhelmed him. He much prefers it when his friends sent him photos individually.

Seungcheol is entering new territory now. He gawks at the unopened notifications on his Facebook profile and moves his mouse gingerly to open them. That’s what starts it. He spends a good few hours browsing through the nights photos, occasionally laughing at some and saving them to his own drive. It seems endless, this multitude of photos, but the thought a certain blonde somebody makes him power on.

Jeonghan appears in a few of the photos he’s seen thus far but blurry and in the background of party commotion. Seungcheol squints at his screen and decides to move on. He views photo after photo until he reaches one catches his breath. Someone had taken a photo of him and Jeonghan when the blonde had crashed into him mid-pull up. Seungcheol rubs a hand on his chest, remembering the impact. The photo captures Seungcheol lying on the ground, eyes wide at Jeonghan pressed against his body.

Suddenly incredibly embarrassed, Seungcheol slams his laptop shut and kicks it to the edge of his bed like as if it burned him. He makes a pained noise and lies on his back, fingers interlocked and resting on his chest. He stares blankly at his ceiling, lips pressed into a firm line. Then he jerks his head back as if in disbelief and asks himself:

“What are you, _17_?”

 

* * *

 

Being back at university meant a lot of things for Seungcheol. It’s only been a month since the new year started and he was already juggling three graphics different projects of various intensities. That and he really has to start on that art history essay that he’d been putting off for the past week. He lets out a little sigh as he clutches his books to his chest and heads to the library. One would think that as an art major you’d be free from essay writing.

He smiles and bows at the librarian when he enters before looking for a quiet space to work. Seungcheol walks to the back of the library, just behind the shelf that houses cheesy historical romance novels. He pauses to look at a particularly racy cover illustration and raises his brows at it before continuing his search for a table (if he’s lucky, a cubicle).

Seungcheol peeks around some shelves and find a quiet corner with a table and two chairs. The table has a little separating wall, good for privacy. One of the chairs are already occupied and there seems to be someone leaning their head down on the desk, sleeping probably. Yes, he can work with that. He whispers a little cheer under his breath and heads towards it. Seungcheol puts his books down quietly and seats himself. He gives all his books a quick once over and sighs. The person next to him stirs and he slaps a hand over his mouth.

When the person stops moving, Seungcheol relaxes and opens up one of the compulsory texts to begin his reading. The library is almost completely silent, save for the whirl of the air-conditioning above head. If he hadn’t had that iced coffee an hour ago with Jihoon, he’d probably be just like the guy next to him. He turns to his right to look at the guy, for personal emphasis but startles immediately.

_Jeonghan_ is leaning back in his chair, glasses on his face and bangs slightly messy, staring at him.

Seungcheol’s eyes bulge and his mouth drops open a little. _Oh my god._ His heart is stuttering at the sight of Jeonghan in glasses. His brain, currently extremely incoherent.

Jeonghan’s sleepy eyes twinkle amused and Seungcheol wants to say something but Jeonghan beats him to it, bringing a slender finger up to his lips. Seungcheol follows the delicate movement with wide eyes.

_Library_ , Jeonghan mouths at Seungcheol. Then he leans back behind the table separation and out of sight.

Seungcheol blinks, pausing to look at his book then back at the table separation. How the _fuck_ is he supposed to study with Yoon Jeonghan casually napping next to him?

“Hey,” Seungcheol swallows his nervousness and says. He waits for a response but it doesn’t come. Chewing his lower lip, Seungcheol collects himself and hunches over his books.

It is only after an hour when he finally looks up and realizes that Jeonghan has left. The blonde is either extremely light on his feet or, Seungcheol has been much too engrossed in his reading. Either way, he slouches dejectedly in the library chair.

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol believes that it is the next three subsequent times he’s missed the chance to talk to Jeonghan that sets a fire to his determination to find him and possibly, ask him out. A proposition he’s been ruminating over for a while now.

The first had been when he was leaving the music department after hanging with Jihoon. He was alone in the lift and reaching the ground floor. When the lift _dings_ and opens, he’s face to face with Jeonghan and a bunch of students he doesn’t recognize. His eyes fall naturally on the blonde and he doesn’t register anyone else.

Jeonghan offers him an easy smile. It is polite in nature but Seungcheol detects a tinge of amusement. Seungcheol finds his face frozen in a stupid smile before they walk past each other and the lift door shuts behind him, carrying the beautiful blonde up, up, up and away. He paces in the lift lobby for a whole fifteen minutes trying to decide if he should go back up and look for Jeonghan but his group meeting that’s about to start in five minutes makes the decision for him in the end.

The second time happened when Seungcheol was headed to the café where Mingyu works to get a coffee for Jihoon and himself. He spots Jeonghan leaning lazily against the counter chatting to Mingyu as the younger boy fixes a lid on his iced tea. By the time Seungcheol makes it to where they are, Jeonghan is already walking away back to the music studios and Seungcheol cannot think of anything clever to say so he just watches him go. An exasperated sigh from Mingyu forces Seungcheol to (reluctantly) pull his gaze away from the blonde and cock his head in question at the younger boy.

“He is so _picky_ with his drinks,” Mingyu presses his lips into an unhappy line, “he always makes me redo them.” Seungcheol makes a sympathetic face.

The third time was extra frustrating because he had a whole half hour to say something to Jeonghan and didn’t. It happens when Seungcheol pushes past Jihoon’s studio doors to bring the younger boy some dinner. Jeonghan is perched picturesquely on the edge of Jihoon’s desk with a slight frown on his beautiful face.

Seungcheol nearly drops the takeout but catches it with quick reflexes. He doesn’t go to baseball practice for nothing. The two music majors turn to him at the sound of the plastic crinkling and his controlled yelp. Seungcheol’s face burns red as he offers a sheepish smile, eyes darting between Jihoon and Jeonghan. Jeonghan’s perfectly arched eyebrow quirks ever so slightly.

“Thanks, hyung, I’ll be a second.” Jihoon acknowledges him with a little nod before directing his attention back to the notebook between him and Jeonghan. From where Seungcheol strains to see, it’s scribbled with notes and messy writing. Jeonghan doesn’t pay him much attention after the initial show of curiosity. The blonde seems focused on what Jihoon is saying to him and Seungcheol sits on the sofa awkwardly watching the two. It’s a while before the two music majors seem to come to some sort of agreement.

Then, Jeonghan is stuffing the notebook into his bag and thanking Jihoon. Seungcheol widens his eyes, quickly realizing he has about a minute or so to say something before the blonde disappears _Again_.

“Do you want t-” he begins but Jeonghan’s phone starts ringing and the blonde picks it up quickly.

“Yeah, I’m done,” Jeonghan says into his phone, eyes inquisitive on Seungcheol. Seungcheol shakes his head quickly and makes a hand gesture equivalent to ‘ _No, no, it’s nothing_ ’. Jeonghan nods back, mouth still moving prettily against his phone and then he leaves.

The studio door clicks close and there’s a pregnant pause before Jihoon accuses-                                                                                                         

“Did you just try and offer him _my_ dinner?”

 

* * *

 

 

That is probably why Seungcheol finds himself constantly scouring faces in the crowd, if only to catch a glimpse of that head of blonde. He _may_ be going a little stir crazy over it. Jihoon’s always said that he’s the emotional type, the type to get attached to something, or someone. Seungcheol is starting to think his best friend might have a very relevant point. He knows this because of how Mingyu looked at him when he ran off mid-conversation to chase after someone in the cafeteria who looked a lot like Jeonghan from behind. He _wasn’t_ Jeonghan and Seungcheol apologised profusely for almost spinning the guy’s lunch onto the floor.

Seungcheol worries the inside of his cheek as he gathers his strength and flips the large, truck tire in front of him. He grunts and leans his weight on it after, muscles aching.

“What, tired already captain?” Mingyu has the cheek to say next to him, as if he isn’t also breathless and drenched in sweat, burdened with his own truck tire. Seungcheol shoots him a grin, dangerous and challenging. The baseball team is flipping tires today. Not exactly Seungcheol’s favourite exercise, but a necessary exercise nonetheless.

“This is my third lap,” Seungcheol gets a solid grip on his tire and flips it with a swift motion. It lands on the dirt with a heavy thud. “I’ve been doing thi-”

The words catch in his mouth when he thinks he sees Jeonghan walking with Joshu _ji_ around the perimeter of the baseball field. Seungcheol isn’t even listening to what Mingyu has begun saying anymore as he cranes his head and squints at the pair. He manages to pat the younger boy on the shoulder before taking off and sprinting off.

 

* * *

 

“Yoon Jeonghan!” Seungcheol momentarily forgets how loudly he can project his voice and after he shouts he clamps a hand over his mouth in embarrassment. He laughs at himself, a little. Giddy. He hopes Jeonghan heard him because when he glances back at his team, it is evident everyone else heard him. Seungcheol huffs out a nervous laugh but continues jogging to where the blonde is.

Heart-a-pounding, he feels a wave of relief when the blonde pauses his leisurely stroll with Joshu _ji_ to peer past the wired fence and to Seungcheol. He quickens his jog and when he reaches the fence he grabs a handful of it, a breathless smile overtaking his face. 

Is it stupid to miss someone you have no business missing? Probably. _Most likely_. But Jeonghan is looking at him with gentle amusement and it feels like that bottle of iced water he’s been craving the whole training. 

“Choi Seungcheol,” Jeonghan chirps, head tilting in acknowledgment. Next to him, Joshu _ji_ smiles and nods. 

“Hey,” Seungcheol breathes. His name sounds so good on Jeonghan’s lips, he barely remembers how to have a normal polite conversation and blurts out: “Can I take you to dinner?” 

Jeonghan’s eyes widen ever so slightly but the innocent surprise leaves as quickly as it comes. It’s replaced with an evaluative once-over. The blonde makes a _hmmm_ noise at the back of his throat before turning to his best friend and holding out a hand. 

“Coin?” 

Joshu _ji_ doesn’t even flinch at the seemingly odd request and reaches into his jeans pocket to pull out a coin. He drops it into Jeonghan’s hand with a knowing smile. Seungcheol isn’t sure what he knows but he would also like to be in the know. 

Jeonghan directs his gaze back to Seungcheol and the moment they lock gazes, Seungcheol feels the fatigue from his bones melt to the ground, over taken by a prickling nervousness.

“Heads or tails?” Jeonghan asks him, lips moving quickly and sweetly. 

“Heads,” Seungcheol replies almost immediately. He’s confused but this increasingly seems to be the norm when it comes to Jeonghan. 

Jeonghan’s eye twinkles before he flips the coin and catches it with a practiced grace that makes Seungcheol wonder how often he does this.  

There’s a heart-racing, agonising few seconds where Jeonghan moves his hand to slowly reveal the coin. 

_Heads._

Seungcheol feels like he won something very grand.

Jeonghan flits his eyes back up to Seungcheol. 

“When do you finish...” Jeonghan’s voice trails off as he runs his gaze over Seungcheol completely. From the off-white baseball cap that hides most of his raven black hair to the sweat coating his neck in a glossy sheen to his now soiled baseball uniform and muddy shoes. “...practice?” 

“I’ll be done in an hour or so,” Seungcheol follows his gaze until they lock eyes again.

“I’ll be at the library, pick me up at 8?” Jeonghan raises his eyebrows.

“Wait for me,” Seungcheol grins and readjusts his cap with renewed energy pumping through his veins. He’s so going to beat Mingyu at the last round of tire flipping. 

 

* * *

 

The occasional gush of air conditioning punctuating the otherwise warm and humid outside tickles Jeonghan’s neck as he stands just shy of the library automatic doors. It’s 7:58pm and perhaps, he’s reconsidering his coin-flipping tendencies. It almost always works out in his favour and by in his favour he means he doesn’t usually end up on dates. He can _technically_ pull out of this but Jeonghan always follows through with the games he starts. 

He sighs a little, kicking his heels against the pavement.

Jeonghan’s phone vibrates and he reaches for it to see that Joshua has texted him.

**Shua – 8:00pm**

_Be nice_.

He glares at his phone, at Joshua’s stupid display picture of him at a café drinking coffee. Jeonghan took that picture and told Joshua that he was cute when he did but Joshua isn’t being cute right now. In fact, he’s being annoying. 

**Shua – 8:01pm**

_And have fun. (-:_

Jeonghan narrows his eyes at the smiley face. 

**Shua – 8:01pm**

_Anyone would be lucky to go on a date with you._

_I’ll beat his ass if he’s mean to you._

_Be safe._

It’s difficult to maintain an indifferent and uncaring expression so Jeonghan breaks into a smile. His smile falters a little when a black sedan pulls up in front of him and he spots Seungcheol in the driver’s seat. _Oh fuckin’_ \- The guy is driving.

Jeonghan feels a twinge of dread and pushes it down quickly. He cannot remember when he last went on a date. Actually, he can but that’s not really the point of this current word vomit. The point of this is that Seungcheol makes him nervous. The kind of nervous that makes you feel like you need to bolt. An irrational, flighty, knee-jerk reaction. It’s not anything in particular, you know. Just the _entirety_ of Seungcheol.

The considerable amount of efforts Jeonghan spent the past month avoiding Seungcheol hasn’t really paid off. The guy spends so much time in the music department, Jeonghan cannot possibly avoid him when he’s literally in Jeonghan’s space. He’s seen him every-freaking-where. From the lift lobby to the café to _Woozi’s_ studio. He kicks himself mentally for momentarily forgetting that Seungcheol is literally Woozi’s best friend. Jeonghan exhales exasperatedly and forcefully at the thought.

He can’t explain it. Ok, yes, he can. It’s Seungcheol’s (stupid) perfect raven, black hair and his always too-warm smiles. Why was he always smiling? What’s he smiling about all the time? Why does Seungcheol approach everything with a child-like wonder and innocence that Jeonghan can no longer understand? Seungcheol confident and sometimes, almost too confident. Like, the guy could walk into the crowded cafeteria with his fly down and spaghetti stains on his shirt but he’d probably just laugh it off with a shrug.

It irritates Jeonghan as much as it draws him to Seungcheol. Like a really _dumb_ moth to a particularly _handsome_ lamp.

Seungcheol seems like too bright a light and it makes Jeonghan want to draw his sunlight-cancelling curtains and-   

“I’m sorry,” Seungcheol gasps when he finally manages to get the passenger door open after what looks like a lot of struggling. He had to lean over his gears and everything to reach for the handle after all. Jeonghan watched him do it. “Did you wait long?” 

“A whole hour,” Jeonghan shrugs nonchalantly as he gets into the car and twists in the seat to buckle his seatbelt. When he’s done, he looks up to find Seungcheol’s face twisted in apologetic horror. He feels a chortle bubbling up in his chest at how wide Seungcheol’s eyes are.

“I’m joking,” Jeonghan lies easily, smile on his lips. Seungcheol’s face relaxes a little.

“Okay,” Seungcheol nods, “So… I hope you’re hungry because I reserved a table for us at a barbeque place.”

Yes, actually. Jeonghan is starving. He usually has dinner around 6pm because Joshua is kind of strict about eating times and he makes the dinner so Jeonghan isn’t about to argue with his best friend. The barbeque place Seungcheol mentioned is off-campus in a place Jeonghan doesn’t recognize. The ride is short but Jeonghan spends a lot of it observing how Seungcheol drives.

He drives like a grandpa.  

Alright, Jeonghan is being mean. Seungcheol drives _safe_. Safe and steady enough to lull babies to sleep in the backseat. He drives with a relaxed ease that Jeonghan will not admit appreciating.

The barbeque place is crowded. The air is thick and heavy with the delicious smell of grilled meat and Jeonghan feels rejuvenated. He sniffs the air in appreciation but stops when he realizes Seungcheol is staring at him. Seungcheol has no business staring at him like he’s a precious baby. _Stop_ that Choi Seungcheol.

Smiling, Seungcheol clears his throat and heads to the counter to inform the waitress of their reservation. They get shown to a table in the back, already laid and ready-to-go.

“Order anything you want,” Seungcheol hands Jeonghan the menu when the waitress nods expectantly at them. Jeonghan’s mouth quirks up at the sides gleefully. Almost immediately, he hears Joshua’s voice in his head. **_Be nice_.** It’s like a sit-com voice-over and when Jeonghan casually mentioned it to his best friend one morning, Joshua just laughed and corrected him saying that it was his _conscious_. To which Jeonghan waved a dismissive hand denying he has one, obviously.

Jeonghan ignores said conscious with glee and proceeds to order everything he wants.

“Oh and, two bottles of soju.” Jeonghan finishes with decisive nod, snapping the menu shut with a wide smile. He turns to Seungcheol deviously, expecting his date to be somewhat horrified and put off at his behaviour. It doesn’t go according to plan. None of this is going according to plan really. Instead of the displeased expression Jeonghan expects, Seungcheol’s eyebrows are tilted in an affectionate slant. _Really?_ It unsettles Jeonghan.

“Uh, just one bottle of soju.” Seungcheol peels his eyes away from Jeonghan for a second to look at the waitress. “I’m driving,” his eyes crinkle good-naturedly before they widen and then Seungcheol corrects himself, “I mean, unless you want two bottles. Do you want two?”

Jeonghan stares at Seungcheol with disbelief.

“One is fine,” he manages to murmur out.

“Oh, okay,” Seungcheol rubs a hand on his chest and Jeonghan unintentionally follows the motion with his eyes.

“Thank you.” Seungcheol smiles at the waitress who’s scribbling on her notepad quickly and tucking the menus under her arm.

And then the both of them are alone.

Well, as alone as they can be in a crowded family barbeque restaurant.

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol is a design major; Jeonghan finds this out between sips of his soju and grilling meat. He had his suspicions. The guy had a drawing tablet clutched close to his chest the day they met in studio C04.

“Can I see?” Jeonghan leans forward on the table, face in his hand and eyes interested. He doesn’t expect Seungcheol to hide an embarrassed flush and stammer.

“U-uh,” the raven-haired boy’s face gets a little red and Jeonghan can see it even through the smoke from the grill. “I have some on my phone.” Seungcheol shifts in his seat to pull his phone out of his back pocket. Jeonghan expects him to be self-deprecating towards his work (most design majors he knows are) but surprisingly, Seungcheol doesn’t make any excuses or comments for his work when he passes his phone to Jeonghan, albeit shyly.

Alright, Jeonghan will judge for himself. Device in hand, Jeonghan looks at the image before him and his eyebrows raise up in surprise.

“Wow,” he nods, eyes scanning the details and fingers moving to enlarge the image, “this is really cool, I saw this on campus. It was for the audition for the drama club was holding, wasn’t it?” Jeonghan looks up at Seungcheol with genuine interest.

“Yeah,” Seungcheol rubs a hand behind his neck slowly.

“I didn’t know you did this,” Jeonghan continues, enjoying the way Seungcheol seems to quieten into a bundle of shy. “It’s really good. _Or,_ I don’t know crap about design and it’s actually really shit but I can’t tell.”

Seungcheol chuckles suddenly, hand moving to his mouth as he does.

It’s a sound Jeonghan decides he really likes.

“I’m glad you like it,” Seungcheol says, voice a little low but a smile on his lips. Jeonghan smiles back and they fall into a mutual silence. It drags on for a minute and then two and then-

“Let’s play a game,” Jeonghan says with a sudden wave of his hand, eyes twinkling.

“I feel like I’d lose if I played a game with you,” Seungcheol cocks a pointed eyebrow, smirking.

“You would but will that stop you from trying?” Jeonghan grins, teeth flashing as he pours soju into a shot glass. Seungcheol eyes the movement suspiciously.

“I’m driving,” his tone is lightly reprimanding but yet, he makes no real move to stop the blonde.

“We’ll walk it off,” Jeonghan waves a hand gleefully. Seungcheol narrows his eyes at him but gives in quickly. 

“Let’s hear it then,” Seungcheol nods, elbow on the table and attention fully on Jeonghan.

“We’ll make each other wraps and the person that eats it without laughing wins. We have to eat it at the same time, obviously.” Jeonghan decides with a cheeky smile. Seungcheol purses his lips as if in thought but Jeonghan is reaching for the bowl with the lettuce wraps and suddenly he jabs his hand out at the biggest leaf, getting to it before Jeonghan does.

The blonde snaps his head at Seungcheol, eye’s wide and lips curling, challenging.

“That’s the biggest leaf,” Jeonghan says slowly, dragging out his words as he takes a moderately sized one.

“It is,” Seungcheol nods wickedly. Jeonghan feigns an offended gasp and Seungcheol sniggers.

“What’s the punishment?” Seungcheol asks, already moving his chopsticks to put side dishes on the lettuce.

“Drink until the other person says stop,” Jeonghan says quickly, eyes darting to the half full soju bottle on the table. They stare at each other for a prolonged beat before Seungcheol sits up slowly and calls the waitress. Jeonghan cocks a questioning eyebrow at him. Seungcheol orders two soju bottles and beer.

When the alcohol reaches their table, Seungcheol looks at Jeonghan square in the eye. The dangerous glint in it sends a strangely electrifying jolt through Jeonghan’s spine. It has him shifting in his seat but not uncomfortably.

“What do you want in your wrap?” Seungcheol grins wide like a Cheshire cat. It is very unlike the previous shyness he had about his work.

“Surprise me,” Jeonghan shrugs gracefully. He reaches for the chilli peppers and starts building Seungcheol’s wrap on a bed of spice.

“Are we playing by some reasonable rules or…?” Seungcheol asks, eyeing the wrap being made for him.

“Rules are, there are no rules.” Jeonghan says, face indifferent as he adds some un-chopped garlic pieces. 

“You’re dangerous,” Seungcheol’s broad shoulders shakes with mirth.

“I’m _fun_ ,” Jeonghan grins, feeling gracious and adding a slice of pork.

“You are,” Seungcheol replies without missing a beat, that affectionate gaze making a comeback. It startles Jeonghan, catching him off-guard. But then, Seungcheol collects himself to concentrate on ruining Jeonghan’s chances of winning. He stacks a ridiculous amount of pork belly slices onto the lettuce leaf in his hand. He doesn’t forget to add some garlic pieces for flavour and some sauce.

When they’re both ready, they exchange wraps.

“This is literally the size of a baseball,” Jeonghan comments, face deadpanning on his wrap and Seungcheol laughs.

“Not quite but almost,” the baseball captain shrugs. Jeonghan glares at him but delights in the knowledge that Seungcheol might actually die from spice tonight. The pair lock challenging gazes and then procced to stuff their faces with their designated wraps.

“Are you ready to lose?” Jeonghan manages to say when his wrap is finally in his mouth. He furrows his brows to concentrate. Seungcheol’s mouth is full and after a bite or two his nostrils flare from the chilli peppers. Jeonghan clenches his fists to fight the urge to laugh. Ok this was a really dumb idea.

“I don’t,” Seungcheol gasps, throwing his head back and trying to let out some heat through very controlled exhales. Jeonghan almost spits out the whole wrap in his mouth laughing so he clamps a hand over his face.

“I don’t know if I’m really losing,” Seungcheol says again, struggling a little with his words, “because I put about sixty slices of pork in your wrap.”

Jeonghan snorts, throwing his head back to contain the food in his mouth. Seungcheol is right though, his wrap is proving to be a bitch to chew through. He glances curiously at how Seungcheol is doing and nearly chokes to death at the sight of the raven-haired boy completely fire-truck red and suffering.

_Oh fuck._

Jeonghan is really choking now. He’s trying to laugh and breathe all at the same time but most importantly, he’s trying not to die. What kind of dumb ass first date is this becoming?

“Oh shit,” Seungcheol gasps, leaning far over the table to where Jeonghan is heaving. Jeonghan isn’t having any of it, he’s really trying not to laugh here but Seungcheol is teary-eyed from that chilli blast and it’s not helping.

“Are you okay?” Seungcheol is getting up from his seat and moving towards Jeonghan. _I’m fine_ , he wants to say but there’s a piece of pork jammed in his throat and it’s kind of hard.

“Oh my god,” there’s panic in Seungcheol’s voice as he grabs a load of tissues and cups his hand under Jeonghan’s mouth. “Spit it out, oh my god, spit it out.”

Jeonghan is shaking his head furiously and Seungcheol has started patting his back frantically.

“Just spit it-”

Jeonghan _spits_ the wrap out into Seungcheol’s cupped hand and coughs violently.

“Oh fuck,” Seungcheol says. _Yeah, I know_ , Jeonghan wants to reply, _it’s gross_. But Seungcheol just takes the tissues he got previously and cleans his hands with surprisingly speed before directing his attention to Jeonghan. He takes Jeonghan’s face in his hand, thumb brushing away the bit of spit at the corner of Jeonghan’s mouth. The gesture is soft and frighteningly intimate.

Jeonghan convulses a little, coughing for a bit before calming down. Seungcheol’s eyes are wide with concern and Jeonghan grimaces, throat raw.

“We’re never playing that game again,” Jeonghan says, voice raspy from coughing and laughing at the same time.

“We’re **never** playing that game again,” Seungcheol confirms with a relieved chuckle, “We have one rule now.” Jeonghan stares at him for a moment and then they both laugh.

“I guess we both lose,” Jeonghan blinks innocently at Seungcheol when he returns to his seat. Seungcheol shakes his head in disbelief, eyes crinkling at the corners as he laughs.

 

* * *

 

They finish the alcohol Seungcheol ordered and then some. Jeonghan finds out that Seungcheol handles his alcohol really well. Even when he stumbles a little out of the restaurant, Seungcheol holds his elbow firmly and guides him down a few steps.

“Let’s walk it off,” Seungcheol says, voice close to Jeonghan’s ear. His breath is warm and it sends a shiver down his spine.

“Oh yeah, you’re definitely _not_ okay to drive,” Jeonghan clicks his tongue in response and Seungcheol laughs out loud. The sound of Seungcheol’s laugh is really growing on Jeonghan. He’s heard it a whole lot the past two hours after all.

Seungcheol walks him slowly to a little clearing just shy of the restaurant, strong arm wrapped around Jeonghan’s waist like as if he’s going to stumble to the ground. Jeonghan wants to tell Seungcheol that he’s good and that he’s fine but Seungcheol is warm where he’s pressed against Jeonghan and the night breeze is a little chilly.

They end up lying on a patch of grass staring up at the night sky.

“Joshua really likes constellations,” Jeonghan murmurs quietly. He hears Seungcheol turn towards him, the grass beneath him rustling a little. “My best friend.” Jeonghan continues, “The pretty one that is nice to everyone.”

“You know,” Seungcheol says, “I really thought his name was Joshu _ji_.”

Jeonghan turns to look at Seungcheol in surprise, laughter bubbling uncontrollably up in his chest. 

“How do you know _that_?” Jeonghan gasps jovially.

“You called him that at my party,” Seungcheol shrugs and Jeonghan makes a little ‘O’ with his mouth.

“Why do you call him that?” Seungcheol asks softly. The quiet of the night makes him feel like he should be whispering, like as if this is a secret that he has to hold close to his heart. This moment.  

“I can’t tell you,” Jeonghan shakes his head slowly and bringing a finger up to his lips for emphasis, “Shua hasn’t allowed me to tell anyone.”

“How many names does this guy have?” Seungcheol whispers, incredulous.

“His Korean name is Jisoo,” Jeonghan giggles at Seungcheol’s confused expression.

“Wow.”

“The moon is really pretty,” Jeonghan whispers, pointing to it. Seungcheol doesn’t turn his face up to the sky, he’s looking at Jeonghan.

“Yeah,” he says quietly, “it is.”

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol stirs awake with a sharp inhale and lifts his head off from where it’s been resting on his arm. He looks around, slightly disorientated before jolting upright and looking to his right. Jeonghan is lying next to him staring at the sky with his hands on his belly. The glow of the moonlight skirts the blonde’s skin and illuminates it in a frighteningly ethereal way.  

“Oh god,” Seungcheol mutters, hand running down his face, “I fell asleep.”

“It’s okay,” Jeonghan says-whispers, eyes not leaving the stars. He is quiet and from where Seungcheol is staring at him, he looks lost in thought. The usual playful streak to his person is gone, replaced with a sobering calm. A kind of quiet Seungcheol never thought he would see on Yoon Jeonghan.  

Seungcheol lowers himself back down to the grass and turns his head to the sky.

 

* * *

 

“I spat on him,” Jeonghan says when Joshua asks him how the date went the next morning.  

“You **_what_**??” His best friend yells back from the kitchen.

 

* * *

 

The look on Jihoon’s face speaks volumes but Seungcheol isn’t quite sure what it’s speaking.

“We’re talking about Jeonghan right?” The music major says, eyebrows furrowing. “The blonde one who’s… who’s….”

“Who’s?” Seungcheol echoes after Jihoon.

“I don’t know,” Jihoon shrugs, “did I miss something at the party… or?”

Seungcheol’s mind flashes to the incident at the pool and discomfort twists in his stomach. He shakes his head quickly.

“I know he has a reputation, if that’s what you’re asking. I’ve heard some people say things but I'm sure it’s nothing. Maybe they don’t like him because he’s crafty.” Seungcheol’s chest shakes as he laughs.

“Craft- I mean, well, I don’t know. He’s just you know, he has like a reputation.” Jihoon seems to be struggling with his words so he reaches for his phone where it sits on the table and Seungcheol waits. The younger boy taps wordlessly on his screen and pulls up Jeonghan’s Instagram.

“Like, a 10k follower kind of reputation.” Jihoon says, showing the account to Seungcheol. The older boy looks unfazed by this information.

“He’s beautiful,” Seungcheol says matter-of-factly, “I’d want to follow him too.”

Jihoon makes a face at his best friend.

“I’m just saying…”

But Jihoon’s voice fades into white noise for Seungcheol when he clicks on Jeonghan’s latest post. It looks deceivingly like just a black square but upon closer inspection (some finger zooming), it becomes obvious it’s a picture of the night sky. Seungcheol reads the caption with a smile.

_‘Moonwalker.’_

 


	3. Chapter 3

Joshua isn’t a pusher. Generally speaking, he’d much rather stand by and observe. He’s not too keen on prodding or coaxing information out of someone because he believes that either time or the person will eventually tell.

That’s why he doesn’t say anything when he picks up on the subtle change in Jeonghan. He’s been like this ever since his date with Seungcheol. By _this_ , Joshua means: distracted and touchy, more touchy than usual. There are a few reasons or explanations that Joshua immediately thinks of, but he keeps them to himself in favor of waiting for the right time. 

His best friend is currently switching between sniggering at his phone and slamming it screen down on the table, indignant. Joshua raises a gentle but questioning eyebrow, wondering to himself how many times Jeonghan’s phone can take a beating. It’s the fourth time he’s thrown his phone carelessly on the lunch table, seemingly offended by it. Maybe he _should_ ask Jeonghan about the date.  

Joshua clears his throat and Jeonghan flicks his phone away (again) in favor of leaning forward on the lunch table and cradling his face in his palms, attention completely on Joshua. The blonde cocks his head to the side, innocent-looking and inquisitive.

“I have dinner with Vernon tonight,” Joshua says, reaching over to Jeonghan’s phone to move it away from the edge of the table.

“Noooooo,” Jeonghan whines the moment he says the words ‘I have dinner.’

“Do you want to come?” Joshua offers, face amused at the way Jeonghan is slumping against the table.

“No,” Jeonghan mumbles, face now completely on the table and looking away from Joshua. Jeonghan’s phone vibrates where Joshua has moved it to safety. Jeonghan ignores it.

“Vernon won’t mind,” Joshua says, voice affectionate.

“No,” Jeonghan repeats, waving a dismissive hand before putting his chin on the table and glaring at Joshua, “the both of you are just going to speak in English and I’m not going to understand anything. It’s not fun.”

The smile that Joshua’s been keeping at bay blooms on his face when he places a hand on his chest and says in mock offence, “are you saying I’m not fun?”

Jeonghan juts his lower lips out and Joshua just laughs.

Jeonghan’s phone vibrates again but the blonde doesn’t make a move for it.

“You gona get that?” Joshua raises his brows, signaling at the phone with his eyes.

“It’s nothing,” Jeonghan says with a bored expression.

“O-kay,” Joshua nods slowly before asking, “so, are you going see Seungcheol again? The date sounded nice.”

At the mention of the baseball captain, Jeonghan sits up and leans back in his chair. His face sobering into nonchalance.

“Nope,” Jeonghan says, as indifferently as he can. His response doesn’t sit well with Joshua so he leans forward slightly and makes a gently inquisitive expression. It’s not at all confrontational but Jeonghan shifts in his seat like as is Joshua has shined a spotlight on his person.

The silence stretching between them finally ends when Jeonghan shrugs.

“Does it matter?” the blonde sighs like the conversation is chore, “he probably lost the bet anyway, we didn’t-”

Jeonghan catches himself, stopping mid-sentence. Joshua’s expression hardens and his lips press into a thin line. His eyes are a mix of unpleasant surprise and disbelief.

Jeonghan looks away from him like a child caught red-handed.

“This is different.” Joshua says after a moment of checking himself. He says the words slowly and deliberately.

Jeonghan shrugs and grins at him. Despite how its forced, it is beautiful. But then again, most things about Jeonghan naturally were.

“Doesn’t matter,” Jeonghan laughs.

 

* * *

 

The burger place that Vernon takes Joshua to is near the convenience store he part-times at. They’re already walking into the restaurant when Vernon stops mid-step and his face lights up expressively: “ _Ey_ Jihoon-hyung!”

Vernon leans back into Joshua’s space and says, “I told him about this place like, yesterday.”

Joshua looks at Jihoon (who really, he knows as Woozi but he can adjust) and offers up a friendly smile. His smile freezes a bit at the sight of a familiar, handsome head of raven-hair sat opposite of Jihoon. There’s no mistake. It’s _Seungcheol_. Joshua takes about a second to deliberate what to do with this information before he puts a hand behind Vernon and starts moving the younger boy towards their table.

“Let’s join them.” Joshua says through the smile he’s pulled his face in. Vernon’s face morphs very expressively from initial surprise to jovial agreement. Clueless but going with it, just how Joshua likes him.

“Hey,” Joshua says easily to the two as they arrive at the edge of the table booth, “Can we join you two?” 

Jihoon lifts his wrist in response, moving to scoot over and Joshua slides into the cushioned seat. When he looks up, Seungcheol is staring at him with wide eyes. It’s kind of comical, seeing as Seungcheol’s eyes are already substantially large.

“You gona make Vern stand the whole dinner?” Joshua laughs, motioning to the younger boy who is still standing by the edge of the table. Seungcheol snaps out of it and laughs, apologizing to Vernon who shrugs good-naturedly.  

“This is a pretty nice place,” Joshua says, raising his hand to get the waiter’s attention.

“Seungcheol, Joshua. Joshua, Seungcheol.” Jihoon waves a hand between the two, sipping on his coke through a straw as he does. “You guys are the same age. Cheol’s older I think.”

“We’ve met,” Joshua’s eyes crinkle at the corner, “a few times.”

“Oh, right at the party,” Jihoon nods a few times but Joshua thinks he’s nodding to the beat of the music in the background.

“I’ve been calling you Joshu _ji_ in my head for months,” Seungcheol shakes his head as he grins. Jihoon cocks an eyebrow, stuffing some fries in his mouth.

“Ah,” the sound of his nickname reminds him why he sat down in the first place, “ _Jeonghan_.” Joshua says his name like as if it explains everything. Apparently, it does because Seungcheol’s eyes crinkle with fondness. He smiles whilst he nods in agreement.

Joshua notes Seungcheol’s reaction with interest. His earlier conversation with Jeonghan weighed heavily on his mind. It isn’t like Jeonghan to go into extreme detail about his dates but from what Joshua had heard, it sounded really nice. Which doesn’t really explain Jeonghan’s behavior, unless-

The waiter arrives and Vernon is thinking out loud.

“Hyung, what do you want?” he asks Joshua.

“I’ll have whatever you’re having,” Joshua says, “Oh but I’ll have a strawberry milkshake.”

“O-K!” Vernon nods with conviction, “Beef burger it is? Maybe some extra fries. Curly or regular? Oh, they don’t have curly fries. I’ll have a banana milkshake.”

When they realize they’re being stared at, Vernon puts a hand over his mouth sheepishly and Joshua apologizes with an understanding shrug.

“Habit,” he explains their sudden burst of English as Vernon puts in their order in Korean.

“Must be useful for lyric writing,” Jihoon comments thoughtfully, hand on his chin.

“Actually, yeah,” Joshua’s eyes brighten and he nods, “It is.”

“You have literally not left your studio the past week and the moment you leave it, you talk about work?” Seungcheol sighs in disapproval at Jihoon, brows furrowing. The younger boy throws a fry at him and Joshua snorts a laugh. He thinks Jeonghan would have enjoyed that.

“He’s so badly behaved in front of strangers, I am _so_ sorry.” Seungcheol shoots a look of apologetic exasperation to Joshua before cooing at the now, scowling Jihoon. Joshua thinks the smaller guy might start hissing.

“Hyung is pretty good with strangers,” Vernon offers innocently. Jihoon stiffens before he glares at Vernon accusingly.

“Oh?” Seungcheol turns to him, eyebrows raised and grin wicked. “ _Do_ tell.”  

“No.” Jihoon snaps defensively, leaning across the table to smack Seungcheol on the shoulder. Joshua thinks Jihoon’s ears are suddenly red and watches the situation unfold with curiosity.

“Do tell,” Seungcheol says again, completely ignoring Jihoon. His eyes are playful and his tone, cheeky. “He won’t tell me so _please_.”

“Uh,” Vernon drops his jaw at the sudden attention. His eyes dart to Joshua and Joshua hides his grin behind a hand.

“I’ll make you clean the bathroom for a month,” Jihoon threatens. Joshua wonders if another fry will be sacrificed.

“But we don’t have a bathroom at the store…” Vernon’s face is the picture of confused.

“It’s that guy isn’t it!” Seungcheol almost shouts, excited. Joshua fights to keep his amused expression down.

“No!” Jihoon insists.

“Yeah.” Vernon nod-shrugs easily.

Jihoon smacks his forehead and Vernon makes a face equivalent of a visual _uh-oh_. Seungcheol’s grin is so wide it’s almost blinding. All it does is send Jihoon into a flurry of _words_ that he shows impressive experience with wielding. Seungcheol sits upright with the biggest grin on his face, arms crossed over his chest and completely unfazed. Joshua finds them so entertaining he doesn’t realize that an hour has passed since they first sat down. He spent a lot of that hour observing Seungcheol, actually. The longer he spent with the guy the more convinced he is that Jeonghan is wrong. Seungcheol doesn’t look like he has it in him. Does he even _know_?

Joshua is about to reach for a fry when his phone vibrates in his pocket. He fishes for it and unlocks the device to see that Jeonghan has sent him a video. _Speak of the devil_. There’s already a smile on his face and a vague sense of dread. The last time he left Jeonghan alone when Jeonghan _didn’t_ want to be alone, he brought all of the blankets they had in the house out into the living room and made himself a blanket fort. Joshua had to stay up and _wait_ for an entire wash and dry cycle because his mother raised him to have hygiene standards.

Steeling himself, Joshua opens the video and immediately cringes at the sound (the blast) of Seokmin belting out an extremely high and humanly impossible note. The stuff of dolphins. On the shaky screen, he sees his best friend’s face crinkled in a happy giggle. Seems like he and Seokmin are in their living room hanging.

“We’re going to eat all of your snacks!” Jeonghan announces on the video through some sniggering, “Tell Vernon I say hi~~” Joshua’s face crumples in resigned affection and throws a look at Vernon who raises his hand in an ‘OK’ sign. The video goes on for a while more, Jeonghan is chortling at some stupid dance Seokmin is performing and asking Joshua if he can see. When it ends abruptly, the whole table is staring at Joshua.

Mostly Seungcheol.

Seungcheol is staring at Joshua’s phone with a surprisingly affectionate expression.  

“Is he always like that?” the raven-haired boy asks, eyebrows slanting down in amusement.

“We got lucky,” Joshua quips with a pointed look at Vernon. The younger boy nods back knowingly. Seungcheol laughs in surprise. Joshua thinks this is his chance, so he takes it.

“How was the date?” he asks casually, sending a quick heart to Jeonghan. Jihoon and Vernon turn to Seungcheol and the older guy shifts in seat. 

“Exactly,” Jihoon nods at Seungcheol’s sudden flush of red. Joshua thinks he can hear the ‘ _HAH!_ ’ in the nod.

“I _told_ you,” Seungcheol looks affronted as he gasps at the smaller boy. 

“Wow everyone is going on dates,” Vernon says, mouth full of beef burger.

“Oh, we’ll get to you Romeo, don’t think you’re exempt from this,” Jihoon attacks quickly. Vernon blinks back confused.

“I don’t have a date though,” Vernon muses.

“You don’t?” Joshua and Jihoon ask at the same time, surprised.

“…N- _no_?” Vernon says, looking suddenly unsure of himself.

“But I thought…” Joshua says before putting his hand over his mouth.

“What?” Jihoon chirps next to him. He looks like a little baby chick and Joshua wants to coo but holds his tongue at the thought of a fry being flung in his direction.

“No,” Joshua sniffs, “It’s nothing.” He turns back to Seungcheol and makes a ‘ _please continue_ ’ hand motion.

“It was good,” Seungcheol smiles, face reddening, “I mean it was good to me, I don’t know if – uh, yeah.”

Joshua tilts his head in question.

“I kind of fell asleep,” Seungcheol cringes, a hand in front of him upturned to the ceiling.

“You **_what_**?” Joshua nearly chokes. He isn’t sure if he’s horrified or delighting in this, either way it’s great. Seungcheol, _please_ , continue. 

“Well, we drank and then went to walk it off because I had to drive and then, yeah. I had baseball practice earlier and been up since 6am. It’s my fault really.” Seungcheol drags a hand down his face and for a moment Joshua thinks he looks like a totally regular university kid. The kind plagued by the pursuits of love and not the kind heralded by the entire campus as King of the university.

Well, even the four of them having dinner together in a burger place off campus seems unlikely. The King of the university, the ghost genius producer, a math major on a scholarship (yes) and Joshua, a relatively quiet music major altogether seems like some kind of crossover episode.

“He spat on you though, so I think you guys are pretty even,” Joshua grins at Seungcheol whose face contorts in sudden concern at the memory.

“Oh god that was such a bad idea,” the baseball captain groans into his hand, “he could have died.”

“He made you play a game with him, didn’t he?” Joshua chuckles.  

“Did he tell you what it was?” Seungcheol peeks from behind his hand.

“Oh, no, please don’t tell me.” Joshua holds a hand out in genuine protest.

“Wraps,” Seungcheol mouths at Joshua like it’s some kind of curse and it may as well be because Joshua has played the same goddamn game with Jeonghan. Joshua makes a frustrated noise.

“Did that put you off from seeing him again,” Joshua deadpans, because if Seungcheol says ‘yes’ he isn’t even going to defend his best friend. _Sorry Hannie you brought this on yourself._

“Actually,” Seungcheol rubs the back of his neck slowly, a shyness overtaking his person, “I haven’t had the chance to meet him again.”

Joshua blinks. _Oh?_

“Text him.”

“I don’t have his number.”

“ _O h_.”

 

* * *

 

 

When Jeonghan bursts into his bedroom the next morning, stalks over to his bed and shoves his phone into Joshua’s sleepy face, Joshua thinks to himself: _why me?_

Apparently, he said it out loud because Jeonghan smacks his chest and pushes his phone further into Joshua’s face.

“I can’t,” Joshua groans, grabbing the phone and moving it away from his face to an acceptable distance so he can read, “read.”

 

**xxx-xxx-xxx**

_Hey, it’s Seungcheol._

_I hope you’ve been well? Been thinking about you._

_Want to go for coffee sometime? (-:_

 

Joshua smiles a little. Seungcheol is a good guy, nice honest guy. Straight to the point and cute. His eyes drift further down to the next message and then he cringes.

 

**xxx-xxx-xxx**

_I met Josh last night and he gave me your number._

_Don’t be too hard on him._

 

Joshua clears his throat and moves to sit up in his bed. Jeonghan is looking at him with both his eyebrows sky high, accusingly.

“Good morning?” Joshua tries cheerfully. Jeonghan isn’t buying it. Joshua knows, it’s the slight twitch below his left eye.

“ _Yes,_ I met him last night,” Joshua starts slowly, watching Jeonghan’s reaction. The blonde is about to say something of the profane variety so Joshua says quicker, “We just bumped into them at the burger place that Vernon was telling me about and we joined their table.”

Jeonghan shoots Joshua a disbelieving look like he totally made that up.

“ _And_ I wanted to see for myself if he’s as bad as you think he is.” Joshua finishes with a wave of his hand in surrender. Jeonghan jerks his head backwards in preparation to _go off._

“He’s not.” Joshua concludes, holding his finger up, “I think he’s great.” He finishes.

Jeonghan clamps his mouth shut and from where Joshua is sitting on his bed, he thinks his best friend is malfunctioning. Jeonghan is standing completely still, lips pursed in a (cute) pout but his jaw has a delicate tension that Joshua is keeping an eye on. Joshua knows that there’s about a million and one things running through the blonde’s mind, all of which he has no business interrupting, so he waits.

It is after a long moment that Jeonghan sighs. Actually, it’s less of a sigh and more of a very short huff.

“I don’t think he’s bad.” Saying the words seem to physically wound the blonde, his pretty face twists in a weird grimace. 

“So?” Joshua’s face softens before he encourages with a playful tone, “Go get coffee with him. Make him guess your favorite drink and punish him if he doesn’t get it right.”

Jeonghan remains stood where he is with an unreadable expression on his face and phone clutched in his hand.

“It’s been a while, Hannie.” Joshua says quietly, moving to rub a comforting hand on Jeonghan’s side, “Don’t you think you owe this to yourself?" 

Jeonghan doesn’t move to lean into Joshua’s touch but he doesn’t move away.

“He is _really_ handsome,” Joshua teases lightly, “and have you seen that chest? I’m just saying, he was wearing a light blue t-shirt yesterday. I know it’s just a t-shirt but I know a good chest when I see one.”

Jeonghan’s mouth pulls into an embarrassed smile and he slaps Joshua’s hand away lightly.

“…and I am late for class,” Joshua glances quickly at the time on his phone, making a face as he does. He stands and makes his bed with impressive speed before heading for the bathroom. He’s just a little out of his bedroom when he pauses to look back at Jeonghan, still standing in his bedroom.

“Text him back,” Joshua points an instructive finger at his best friend, and then he disappears to the bathroom.

 

* * *

 

 

The flat falls into silence when Joshua clicks the radio off just as he makes to leave for class. He gives Jeonghan a sweet smile and a wave before grabbing his things and heading out the door. When the door shuts behind him, Jeonghan stands in their living room for a long moment, unmoving.

Jeonghan puts his hands in his sweatpants and walks over to the radio to switch it back on. It’s on an English Channel like Joshua likes. His phone which has been in his hands ever since Seungcheol texted him seems a lot heavier than he remembers. He shuffles back to the living room and collapses on the sofa, unlocking his phone. 

Instead of replying Seungcheol’s texts, he opens up a cute camera app on his phone and spends the next twenty minutes making faces at himself with various animal filters on. When he settles on a particularly adorable bunny filter, he takes a selca. Satisfied, he uploads it onto his Instagram with a cute emoji as a caption. Then he flings his phone onto the couch and moves to go take a shower.

 

* * *

 

Jeonghan doesn’t actually have any classes today but he’s in the music building because he needs to work on his solo for the showcase at the end of semester. He’s currently at the university café, hunched over his notebook with a frown on his face. Opposite him, Seokmin is humming a soft tune.

“I’m going to get a refill,” Jeonghan tells Seokmin, shaking his empty cup in front of the younger boy’s face. He pushes his chair out and strolls over to the café counter where Mingyu is wiping.

“Hyung,” Mingyu starts, holding up his hands in defense, “You’re going to need to repeat that order because I already cannot remember how many pumps of syrup you wanted.”

“Just an iced Americano,” Jeonghan says mercifully, returning his previous cup. Mingyu raises a skeptical eyebrow.

“I’m sleepy,” Jeonghan leans on the counter with his face in his hands, eyes closed so he can’t see Mingyu nodding sympathetically.

“That’ll be $4.10,” Mingyu presses some buttons on the screen in front of him. Jeonghan stands up with an exaggerated sigh, reaching in his back pocket for his wallet.

“Here,” a familiar voice says from beside Jeonghan. It is rich, velvety _and_ unexpected.

“Hyung!” Mingyu beams, smile overtaking his face. Jeonghan can see his canines.

Jeonghan stares at the hand in front of him holding out some money before dragging his eyes up to the person with the familiar voice. He keeps his expression neutral as he says with slight amusement: “I can buy my own coffee.”

“I know,” Seungcheol replies without beat. It sounds sincere, Jeonghan thinks. Then, Seungcheol reaches into his pocket and pulls out a coin. Jeonghan feels an involuntary smile overtake his face as he eyes the baseball captain. Seungcheol’s eyebrows rise in expectation.

“Tails,” Jeonghan hums. Seungcheol nods and flips the coin, catching it mid-air and closing his fist.

When the three of them (Mingyu included) peer into Seungcheol’s hand to see _tails,_ Jeonghan wonders if his luck has miraculously returned or left him permanently. He guesses until he figures out how he actually feels, he’s not going to know the answer to that. Seungcheol pockets the coin without much fuss and Mingyu takes his money.

“This isn’t the coffee I was talking about, by the way,” Seungcheol begins to say with a nonchalant shrug to his shoulders, “when I say coffee I _really_ mean a romantic walk by the beach after a picnic and possibly a movie, maybe also ice cream.”

The laugh it elicits from Jeonghan is filled with surprise and amusement. Jeonghan stares at Seungcheol incredulously, brows furrowed but mouth curved into a smile. 

“What, no cliché aquarium date?” Jeonghan counters, taking his iced American from a now, very confused Mingyu.

“We can add that to a growing list of things I’m planning to do with you.” Seungcheol nods agreeably, face contemplative. Jeonghan laughs out loud, eyes shining. Seungcheol grins back.

“Uh,” Mingyu opens his mouth but they both shush him at the same time.

 

* * *

 

When Jeonghan reaches home a little after 11pm, he startles Joshua as he catches his best friend from behind to give him a tight squeeze. “I love you.”

Joshua smiles and pats Jeonghan’s hands affectionately before saying:

“I too, am a big fan of Joshua Hong.”

 

* * *

 

 

It is only after a whole two weeks of negotiating around both Seungcheol and Jeonghan’s surprisingly busy schedule that they actually settle on a day to go to the aquarium. And during those two weeks, they _accidentally_ settle into a habit of texting each other.

“Care to share with the class?” Joshua hums when he sees Jeonghan snigger at his phone, face crumpled and feet kicking at the sofa. He’s been like that for the past hour and frankly, Joshua is curious now. Jeonghan looks up with a grin before he flashes his phone at Joshua.

“Mingyu tried to fit into one of those big monster truck tires that the baseball team practices with and he got stuck,” Jeonghan claps his hands in glee. Joshua’s eyebrows are raised in amusement but also worry. “Seungcheol sent me a picture.”

“Is he ok?” Joshua’s face, a perfect picture of concern.

“Who? Mingyu or Seungcheol?” Jeonghan asks.

“…Mingyu obviously.” Joshua shakes his head. _Why is he even asking?_

“I think that’s what Seungcheol wants to know.” Jeonghan laughs, waving a hand. Joshua sighs a resigned smile and leaves the blonde to it. 

 

* * *

  

**Jeonghan (4:01pm)**

_rate Jihoon’s mood on a scale from 1-10_

**Seungcheol (4:01pm)**

_solid 4 today_

**Jeonghan (4:02pm)**

_fuck_

**Seungcheol (4:02pm)**

_????_

_oh shit you’ve got a thing with him today don’t u_

_…I should have given him some cookies at lunch_

_should I go back???_

**Jeonghan (4:02 pm)**

_guess I won’t be seeing u tmr_

**Seungcheol (4:03pm)**

_hey that’s not funny_

Actually, it _is_ kind of funny _._ Especially when Jeonghan lets himself into Jihoon’s studio and spots multiple coke cans and some snacks littering the younger boy’s desk. A smile threatens to pull at his face but he puts it away quickly. Instead, he clears his throat to announce his entrance.

“Oh hyung,” Jihoon looks up from his screen, gesturing to the other chair in the room. When Jeonghan’s eyes trail along the snacks on the desk, Jihoon speaks up. “Seungcheol brought them, want a coke?”

“No,” Jeonghan hides a smile behind his hand, “you go ahead.”

His meeting with Jihoon goes swimmingly. His solo is well on track for their showcase at the end of the semester. Initially, he was unsure and nervous about making his own solo track. He’s always worked in a team, or with Joshua. But he was a year away from graduating and couldn’t run away from the reality of being a music major anymore. So, he’s running at it head on and Jihoon is honestly the one person who is really (silently) cheering at him from the sidelines.

Jeonghan wonders how much of the two peaceful, productive hours he owed to Seungcheol. He clutches his revised notes and packs his things before pausing-

“You know,” Jeonghan says more gently than he expected to, “you should rest a bit more. Or when you get the chance to.”

Jihoon blinks back at him in surprise like it’s uncharacteristic of Jeonghan. To a certain extent, he guesses thats true. Jeonghan shrugs, making for the door.

“Seungcheol worries about you,” he explains before leaving.

It is only when he’s already in the lift about to leave the music building that Jeonghan wonders why he said that and if he’d unintentionally admitted to something he wasn’t ready to.

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol picks Jeonghan up at 10am sharp like they agreed on. When Jeonghan climbs into the car, he is hit with the memories of their previous … _hang out_. (Let him call it whatever he wants.) It’s the smell of new leather and that little air freshener Seungcheol puts at the air-conditioning vents that takes him back. Once seated, he takes a moment to give Seungcheol a good once over. Seungcheol has on a black hat that tames his raven-black hair into place and most surprisingly, glasses. That’s where the once over pauses for a good while because Jeonghan just staring at him now. He looks so fucking _handsome_ Jeonghan’s pulse escalates a little and he narrows his eyes. He barely even has time to look at the rest of Seungcheol because he’s too busy trying not to gawk at his face.

“W-what?” Seungcheol blurts out, embarrassed by his scrutiny. His ears are tinted pink at the ends and his hands grip the steering wheel. Joshua frequently whispers to Jeonghan to ‘control his face’ because apparently when he stares at someone, it’s intimidating.

“I didn’t know you wore glasses,” Jeonghan finally says, wriggling in his seat to get comfortable.

“Oh,” Seungcheol smiles warmly, “my eyes were tired so, it’s glasses day.”

Jeonghan nods back. They’re parked below Jeonghan’s apartment and the novelty of seeing each other for the first time in two weeks is starting to morph into gentle awkwardness. Nobody is saying anything after all. And from the corner of his eye, Jeonghan thinks Seungcheol is rubbing the back of his neck.

Seungcheol doesn’t seem to make to move the car so Jeonghan looks at him questioningly. He catches Jeonghan’s stare and smiles sheepishly, gesturing to the seatbelt that Jeonghan has very irresponsibly not bothered to put on.

The blonde turns to his right to look at the belt before looking back at Seungcheol.

“What, you’re not going to put it on for me?” Jeonghan puts on his best scandalized voice and revels in Seungcheol’s surprised laugh.

“Of course.” Seungcheol shakes his head with a grin, “what was I thinking?”

“I don’t think you were,” Jeonghan looks at him, doe-eyed and innocent.

Jeonghan regrets it the moment Seungcheol indulges him. A chuckle still at his lips, Seungcheol’s laugh tickles Jeonghan’s ear as he leans over to reach for the safety belt. Jeonghan’s heart betrays him and stutters incoherently in his chest. He sits completely still and eyes Seungcheol from the corner of his eyes. Jeonghan has already reluctantly admitted to himself that the baseball captain is gorgeous but when Seungcheol is just a few inches away from his face, he notices his long, fluttering lashes and suddenly, Jeonghan is wishing for the moment to pass quicker.

Seungcheol fastens the seatbelt with a click and smiles at Jeonghan when he’s done.

“Now I can tick off being romantically strapped to a car for safety purposes,” the blonde jokes.

“You thought that was romantic?” Seungcheol’s eyes gleam at Jeonghan, entertained.

“ _No_.” Jeonghan is quick to disagree but Seungcheol is already pulling out of the carpark with a smirk on his face.

 

* * *

 

Surprisingly, the aquarium isn’t as crowded as Seungcheol was fearing it’ll be. He mutters silent thanks under his breath as they push through the glass doors, heading for the ticketing counter.

“Two adult tickets please,” Seungcheol reaches into his back pocket to pull out his wallet. He sees Jeonghan making a face at him and immediately says, “you should definitely cross out being romantically taken to the aquarium too.” Jeonghan’s face twists in embarrassed surprise before the blonde settles on pursing his lips quietly. Seungcheol thinks he’s fucking adorable.

Who’d have thought that Yoon Jeonghan loved the aquarium?

Actually, to be fair, who _doesn’t_ love the aquarium?

What Seungcheol is really trying to say is, he’s completely taken by Jeonghan’s inquisitive and curious nature - The way the blonde flits from exhibit to exhibit _oohing_ and _aahing_ at fish and corals alike. Seungcheol trails behind him with a soft smile on his face.

“Look,” Jeonghan gasps as he points to a particularly big shark swimming past them in the overhead tank. Seungcheol follows Jeonghan’s finger and looks up. The black tip shark swims gracefully past them and Seungcheol glances at the blonde just in time to see his eyes sparkle.

“They’re reef sharks,” Jeonghan gushes softly, as if afraid the sharks will hear him, “they’re shy.”

“I would be too if you were staring at my underbelly,” Seungcheol says. Jeonghan snaps his head at him in surprise before shaking his head with chuckle.

Seungcheol didn’t think that the aquarium could ever make him feel so overwhelmed. He’s been here countless of times with his family and he’s even brought the baseball team here once. He knows that right after the overhead tank exhibit comes the reef exhibit where they have small, colorful fishes that live amongst corals. Seungcheol knows this by heart but yet, Jeonghan’s excitement makes him want to press his face against the glass and watch the fishes like it’s his first time.

He walks closely next to Jeonghan, listening to him talk about the fish and point to various things in the tanks but really, Seungcheol’s just looking at the blonde and marveling at how his hair absorbs the gentle blue glow of the tanks around them. It makes Jeonghan look ethereal.

They’re standing in front of the clownfish exhibit and Jeonghan is quietly reading the placard on display when Seungcheol feels the compelling urge to hold his hand. He stuffs his hands into his pants pockets, an attempt to will the feeling away. It doesn’t help very much, especially when Jeonghan’s fingers curl suddenly around his arm to drag him into the next room when he spots the jellyfish exhibit.

Seungcheol allows himself to be pulled by Jeonghan and, in a moment of what he’d call weakness, Seungcheol removes his hand from his pocket and catches Jeonghan’s hand in his. Their fingers brush against each other softly before Seungcheol laces his hand with Jeonghan’s.

The blonde hesitates mid-step and Seungcheol thinks he’s going to pull away so he readies himself to let go.

He doesn’t.

Jeonghan tugs softly at his hand until they’re enveloped by the purple glow of the jellyfish exhibit. Then he lets go of Seungcheol’s hand and Seungcheol lets him. The feeling of Jeonghan’s hand in his, lingering on the tips of his fingers. They stand in mutual silence, watching the jellies float around their circular tank.

 

* * *

 

“Go stand over there,” Jeonghan giggles at the large river arowana swimming in the tank behind Seungcheol. The raven-haired guy makes a face when Jeonghan fishes for his phone in his pocket and point the camera at Seungcheol. 

“Take a love picture with the fish!” Jeonghan’s shoulders shakes with amusement.

“No, I’d rather take one with you,” Seungcheol shakes his head, mock defiant. Jeonghan flushes in surprise but quickly shakes the feeling off. He won’t let Seungcheol catch him off-guard like this.

“Please,” his eyebrows slant downwards and Seungcheol can _feel_ himself soften so he shuffles over to the beast of an arowana and couches down to its level.

“It hates me,” Seungcheol comments, eyeing the judgmental gaze of the fish.

“Kiss it,” Jeonghan insists, phone camera still pointed at him. Seungcheol purses his lips comically and Jeonghan giggles as he snaps a photo.

“What are you doing with that picture?” Seungcheol crowds Jeonghan against the exhibit as the blonde titters. Jeonghan shows the picture to Seungcheol.

“You can’t even see my face,” Seungcheol raises his eyebrows at the picture. The glow from the tank makes Seungcheol look like big shadow.

“I like it,” Jeonghan beams and suddenly Seungcheol doesn’t care if all he is, is a big shadow.

 

* * *

 

 

Seungcheol watches Jeonghan for the millionth time that day as the blonde coos over some small shark plush keychains in the gift shop. It’s faint, but Seungcheol thinks he’s humming the baby shark song as he stands there for a good fifteen minutes, finger on his chin as he seemingly decides which shark to adopt. After the fifteen minutes, he turns to Seungcheol, hand on his hips and says, “let’s go.”

“Don’t you want one?” Seungcheol asks, taken back. He was prepared to very earnestly suggest the adorable hammerhead shark. It’s got small beady eyes and Seungcheol loves him.

Jeonghan shakes his head, blonde fringe swaying as he does.

 

* * *

 

When they finally leave the aquarium, after Jeonghan pulls Seungcheol through the entire thing _twice,_ they’re starving. The hotdog they shared halfway didn’t do much to quell their hunger. Jeonghan straps his own seatbelt on this time, much to Seungcheol’s amusement.

“What are you doing?” Seungcheol asks, driving out of the aquarium. He’s going to take Jeonghan to this family restaurant that has the _best_ beef stew in the area. He thinks Jeonghan will love it.

“Posting pictures,” Jeonghan smiles, showing his phone to Seungcheol who glances at it quickly before pulling his gaze back to the road.

“Is that me in the third picture?” He laughs, face dimpling.

“It’s your love photo~” Jeonghan says in a sing-song manner. Then he looks curiously at Seungcheol. “What’s your Instagram?”

“Uh, it’s ‘scoups’,” Seungcheol says.

“Like your baseball nickname?” Jeonghan’s eyebrows raise, fingers tapping quickly on his phone.

“You know that?” Seungcheol presses his lips together, shy.

“Mmmm…. S for Seungcheol and Coups for coup d’état?” Jeonghan shrugs easily, rattling off the explanation like his abcs. It’s stupid, really, the way Seungcheol feels embarrassed about the nickname when he had so confidently O-Ked it when the team suggested it. He honestly didn’t think this was common public knowledge.

“What’s yours?” Seungcheol asks, trying to direct the attention away from himself.

“1004_han,” Jeonghan hums. Seungcheol makes an amused noise and Jeonghan looks at him, head tilted in question.

“Angel,” Seungcheol explains with a soft laugh, “your username reads angel in Korean.”

“That’s what people call me,” Jeonghan says indifferently, “it’s just my birthday.”

“Do I get to make a really cheesy joke about how you’re an angel?” Seungcheol chuckles. The awkward blush on Jeonghan’s face decides for Seungcheol.

_Yes._

He looks at affectionately at Jeonghan as they’re waiting at a red light. Time spent with Jeonghan is quiet when it isn’t and Seungcheol really likes it. When Jeonghan isn’t asking something ridiculous of him with that classic gleam in his eye, he’s sitting quietly and contently. Both extremes Seungcheol is slowly deciding he doesn’t mind at all.

Jeonghan is being entertained by something on his phone now, giggling. It makes Seungcheol smile and look at him involuntarily. That’s when he catches Jeonghan’s face falling into something hard. It stirs a sense of discomfort in Seungcheol’s chest and he furrows his brows. The blonde wipes his face clean and void of any emotion as he puts his phone back into his pocket. He turns to stares out the window.

“You okay?” Seungcheol asks conversationally and hopes Jeonghan doesn’t catch the way his mouth has pulled into a worried line.

Jeonghan nods easily.

 

* * *

 

“Shua likes your fish picture.” Jeonghan says, mouth full of rice as he eyes his phone. 

“I’m glad,” Seungcheol snorts. He picks up Jeonghan’s cup of green tea and passes it to him. “Chew slowly.”

“This is _so good._ ” Jeonghan dances a little in his chair before stuffing a piece of beef into his mouth. It makes Seungcheol laugh. It also makes him want to buy food for Jeonghan forever. Seungcheol watches his date warmly from across the table. Every second, minute and hour spent with Jeonghan only makes Seungcheol want to spend another second, minute and hour with him. He wonders if this is normal.

“The team are coming over tonight for dinner,” Seungcheol starts, “it’s nothing, just dinner and maybe tv. Do you want to come?”

Jeonghan looks up from where he’s been stuffing is face. The pregnant pause makes Seungcheol anxious and he starts, “no pressure or anything, I know you don’t really know them. We can always ditch the boys, I just thought that-”

“Okay,” Jeonghan says. Seungcheol stops his rambling and blinks at him.

“Okay?” Seungcheol echoes back.

“Okay,” Jeonghan nods with a small smile.

Seungcheol wants to kiss Jeonghan’s face right there and then but instead, he picks up his chopsticks and shovels some rice into his mouth.

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol’s house looks significantly different in daylight. Jeonghan guesses that the absence of the hordes of drunk teenagers definitely helps. He trails behind Seungcheol curiously, eyeing everything he can. He maintains that he thinks Seungcheol is disgustingly loaded but the time that Jeonghan has spent with him has done a pretty good job of slowly turning that once off-putting impression into something more… neutral.

Jeonghan would still like to objectively like to point out that there is actually nothing neutral about Seungcheol’s house.

“The boys are coming at six, we have about half an hour,” Seungcheol smiles at him. “I’m going to get out some utensils and stuff… do you want a beer?" 

“Ok,” Jeonghan says agreeably, following Seungcheol into the kitchen. Seungcheol pops open a bottle of beer and hands it to Jeonghan.

“Mingyu is going to make some food, he really likes cooking. I think he’s going to make some pasta, he said something about it just now. And, I’ll order some pizza… or do you want something else? I can order anything you want.” Seungcheol rambles, sticking his head into the fridge to reach for another bottle of beer that he’d put at the far back.

“I’m easy.” Jeonghan laughs, shrugging.

“You craving anything?” Seungcheol asks, removing his head from the fridge to beam at Jeonghan. The blonde shakes his head politely and for a sobering moment, Seungcheol realizes that Jeonghan is _shy._

Jeonghan hasn’t said much since they stepped into his house. Is he nervous about meeting the team? Is it because it’s some weird social parallel to meeting the family? Seungcheol’s brain runs through a variety of possibilities, all of which render him less sure than he first started. He shakes the speculations away and does the first thing he thinks of.

He moves to where Jeonghan is leaning against the counter, beer in his hand and places a warm hand on Jeonghan’s side. The blonde looks up at him slowly, eyelashes fluttering as he blinks at Seungcheol. He’s so beautiful, Seungcheol thinks distractedly.

“If you’re uncomfortable, just tell me.” Seungcheol says softly, “we can kick them all out and eat the food that Mingyu already made.”

The laugh that bubbles out of Jeonghan makes Seungcheol think he’s done something right.

 

* * *

 

Mingyu bursts into the house with a shout and sounds of struggling. The younger boy is mid-clamber to the kitchen, hands full of groceries, when he spots Jeonghan leaning against the kitchen counter and his draw drops. Behind him, someone sighs loudly and exaggeratedly.

“ _Mingyu,_ ” a deep voice comes from behind him, “what did we say about stopping abruptly when walk-” A face peers around Mingyu’s shoulder to make a face at the boy but quickly realizes Mingyu is staring at Jeonghan. The guy shakes his head, “and what did we say about _staring_ at people?”

The guy moves past Mingyu and makes an apologetic face at Jeonghan, who shakes his head with a small smile.

“I am sorry about him.” The guy says, “I’m Wonwoo. Nice to meet you.”

“Jeonghan,” Jeonghan takes the hand Wonwoo offers and shakes it. Jeonghan decides he likes Wonwoo.

“You children better be nice to Jeonghan, he’s older than all of you.” Seungcheol points at the both of them before disappearing to get some chairs.

“Are you, are you just going to stand there?” Wonwoo turns to stare incredulously at Mingyu, who’s stood frozen where he first stopped moving.  

“Are you dating Seungcheol hyung?” Mingyu blurts out.

This time, it is Wonwoo’s jaw that drops.

Also, Seungcheol is walking back from the living room when he hears Mingyu so he also freezes and stares at Mingyu, baffled. The house is quiet with everyone blinking at Mingyu. It is hilarious, so Jeonghan bursts into a good-natured laugh.

The sound of his indifference seems to calm both Seungcheol and Wonwoo down because Seungcheol takes the groceries from Mingyu with a stare and Wonwoo runs his hand down his face.

“You are banished to the kitchen,” Seungcheol declares, pointing a finger at Mingyu who clamps his mouth shut and sulks. Wonwoo rustles through some of the groceries and pulls out some fruits. There are apples and pears and a honeydew.

“Fruit?” Wonwoo tilts a gaze at Jeonghan, friendly.

“I’ll help.” Jeonghan smiles back.

They are standing next to each other in a peaceful sort of silence, peeling apples when some other boys bustle into the house. Jeonghan watches as Seungcheol welcomes them with hugs and claps on the back. Then he turns to introduce Jeonghan to them. He rattles off their names like he’s rapping and Jeonghan runs his gaze over all of them, careful to smile at everyone. They seem like nice boys, he thinks, as some of them wave enthusiastically at him. One of them whispers something to Seungcheol that makes the captain redden and clamp a hand over the boy’s mouth.

Jeonghan laughs to himself at it and continues trailing his gaze over the rest of the team. The last of them is a boy with an unreadable expression on his face. He locks gazes with Jeonghan for what seems like too long a time to be friendly. It causes a feeling of discomfort to jolt up Jeonghan’s spine. Jeonghan is the first to break the stare, turning back to Wonwoo with smile and a question at his lips.

“What position do you play?” he asks, taking a slice of the apple he’s cut and munching on it.

“I’m not actually on the team,” Wonwoo laughs. He gestures lightly to his person and then makes a face at Jeonghan who laughs.

“I don’t discriminate,” the blonde shrugs, offering an apple slice to Wonwoo who takes it with a smile.

“I’m just here with Mingyu.” Wonwoo laughs affectionately, pausing halfway to turn to glare at Mingyu, who Jeonghan notices looks slightly remorseful.

“ _Ahhh_ ,” Jeonghan nods in understanding.

 

* * *

 

 

The house comes alive with the entire team chattering happily amongst themselves. Mingyu is almost done with the pasta he’s making and the pizzas that Seungcheol ordered just arrived.

“Which one do you want?” Seungcheol asks Jeonghan, presenting all the pizzas to the blonde with obvious bias. Someone from the living room whistles and someone shouts their own preference. Seungcheol shushes them.

“Pepperoni,” Jeonghan grins, taking a box from Seungcheol.  

“Excellent choice.” Seungcheol nods mock-seriously and moves to pass the boys the rest of the pizzas.

Whether it be a conscious choice, Seungcheol and _Wonwoo_ stay relatively close to Jeonghan for the entire night. Seungcheol spends most of it attached to Jeonghan by an invisible thread, engaging him in conversation and occasionally just staring at him with that heart-palpitating, warm smile he always does. It makes Jeonghan (kind of) shy. Wonwoo stays a little further away but also spends time talking to Jeonghan. He finds out from Wonwoo that Mingyu stays with Jihoon, which is a strangely unlikely pair. And that Wonwoo is best friends with someone Jihoon may potentially be seeing.

“Does Seungcheol know?” Jeonghan whispers, an excited gleam in his eye. Wonwoo chuckles, nose crinkling as he does. They’re sat on some beanbags in Seungcheol’s living room.

“What do I know?” Seungcheol interrupts them, sitting next to Jeonghan and eyeing Wonwoo suspiciously. He seats himself on the empty beanbag next to Jeonghan.

“That you sometimes look like a camel,” Wonwoo nods a-matter-of-factly. Jeonghan’s jaw drops and he whips his head to Seungcheol who looks equally as attacked. Seungcheol’s mouth is opening and closing and Jeonghan falls backwards into a fit of giggles.

Wonwoo looks pleased. He is nodding.

“Ya!” Seungcheol shouts accusingly, cheeks reddened before turning to look at Jeonghan, who’s lying on the beanbag in a fit. 

“Oh my god! You _do_ ,” Jeonghan chokes out, reaching out to touch his arm affectionately before laughing uncontrollably again. Seungcheol shakes his head, dumbfounded. He isn’t sure if he should be offended. Camels are kind of cute?

“You’re still handsome,” Jeonghan placates with a smile and Seungcheol leans over the blonde suddenly, locking him in.

“You think I’m handsome?” Seungcheol asks deviously, voice low. The velvety sound sends a shiver down Jeonghan’s spine. Seungcheol’s previous embarrassment is replaced with a frightening confidence that makes him shrink a little deeper into the beanbag. Jeonghan’s face twists into a coy but defiant smile. 

“ _H-HYUNG_!” Mingyu gasps from behind them, voice cracking at the edges. Seungcheol lifts his head away from Jeonghan to look at the younger boy.

“What?” Seungcheol raises his brows. Mingyu is stood holding a large bowl of pasta in his hands and Jeonghan quietly prays that he doesn’t drop it.

“I’ve seen you and Wonwoo do some worse things, don’t ‘ _h-hyung_ ’ me.” Seungcheol sits up now. He turns to look at Wonwoo to prove a point and Wonwoo shrugs, nodding.

 

* * *

 

It is a few hours and many beers later that Mingyu realizes that Seungcheol and Jeonghan are missing. He slides a hand onto Wonwoo’s thigh and asks, “Where’s Seungcheol-hyung?”

“They’re upstairs,” Wonwoo replies, taking another swig of his beer. When Mingyu doesn’t reply, the older boy turns to look at his boyfriend.

“Why?” Wonwoo quirks an eyebrow. He looks at Mingyu chew his bottom lip in thought and continues, “do you know something I don’t?”

“Uh,” Mingyu mumbles, “no, I’m sure it’s nothing.” He shakes his head quickly and Wonwoo thinks he looks like a puppy.

“Jeonghan hyung seems nice,” Wonwoo comments. 

“That’s because you don’t know him,” Mingyu insists. Wonwoo makes a skeptical face at the younger boy.

“How well do _you_ know him?” he questions.

“Uh,” Mingyu crinkles his face in thought, “he doesn’t really like sweet drinks and drinks mostly coffee but when he wants to torment me he says his order really quick and I can’t catch it and he won’t repeat it.”

“So, you don’t know him,” Wonwoo clarifies with amused curve of his lips.

“No but-” Mingyu starts before clamping his mouth shut.

“But?” Wonwoo raises both eyebrows.

“It’s just dumb rumors.” Mingyu mumbles, “I’m looking out for Seungcheol hyung.”

“I’m sure he can look out for himself,” Wonwoo pats Mingyu on the back affectionately, “and rumors _are_ dumb. Remember when everyone thought you were perfect?”

 

* * *

 

 

“How long do you think it’ll take for them to find out we’re here?” Jeonghan laughs, accepting another beer from Seungcheol as they settle on the floor. He’s starting to feel a little sleepy. Contrary to popular belief, Jeonghan spends only about a quarter of his day socializing and the rest of it lying somewhere in a quiet place far away from anyone. It just always looks like he’s out and about on social media.

Today however, Jeonghan has spent the majority of it out and about and now his physically battery is reaching its limit. He blinks sleepily and then gets off the floor to climb onto Seungcheol’s bed.

“They’re watching the game so,” Seungcheol pauses to look at his watch, “maybe in an hour.” He laughs. 

“How are they?” Seungcheol asks suddenly, “they’re good boys.”

Jeonghan smiles involuntarily at how strangely paternal Seungcheol sounds.

“They’re ok.” Jeonghan shrugs as he jokes.

“I accept that,” Seungcheol flashes a blinding smile and Jeonghan wonders how he’s still so energetic. The baseball captain plops down onto the bed next to Jeonghan, who’s given up trying to be anything but sleepy. Seungcheol laughs as he pries the beer bottle out of the blonde’s hands.

“Want me to take you home?” Seungcheol asks softly, brushing a bit of Jeonghan’s hair out of his eyes. Jeonghan sighs into the bed.

“Want you to stop talking,” he mumbles but there’s no real heat to it. Seungcheol smiles and lies down next to him quietly. He stays there in silence obediently for about half an hour, content to just be until he hears a soft snore next to him. He clamps a hand over his mouth stopping the affectionate gasp that was about to jump out in its tracks.

Seungcheol eases off his bed as slowly and as carefully as he can, afraid to wake the sleeping blonde. He pads softly to his cupboard and pulls out some clean blankets, moving back to Jeonghan and draping them over him. He adjusts the blankets a few more times until Jeonghan looks like a cuddly burrito. He puts to hands on his hips and nods to himself, satisfied with his hard work.

Then he goes downstairs to tell the rest to be quiet.

 

* * *

 

Joshua emerges from his blissfully uninterrupted shower with a satisfied smile on his face. He glances at the kitchen clock and notes that it’s past 11pm so he rummages through his things for his phone.

There are a few messages from various people but none from Jeonghan. He taps a finger on his chin in thought before his phone pings as if on cue. It’s from Seungcheol.

 

**Seungcheol (11:21pm)**

_he fell asleep_

_(picture)_

_I’ll take him home in the morning!_

**Joshua (11:21pm)**

_cute_

_I’ll kill you if you do anything to him_

**Seungcheol (11:22pm)**

_yes sir_

He laughs at Seungcheol’s reply and clicks out of the chat to the rest of is unread messages. A name catches his eye and he clicks on the chat with curious expectation. He hasn’t spoken to Jun in a while because the dancer is always so busy with showcases and what not.

 

**Jun (10:12pm)**

_hey hyung <3 _

_sorry I haven’t texted in a while_

_I just saw this a few minutes ago_

_Hao said I should send this to you_

_do you know what’s going on??_

_(link)_

 

Joshua frowns on instinct, a strange feeling of discomfort settling in his gut and clicks the link.

It opens up a webpage of some sort and the title of the post solidifies Joshua’s discomfort. His eye flash angrily and he clenches his jaw.

**Cursed Prince, back for more?**

Posted below are a few blurry pictures of his best friend and Seungcheol laughing together in what Joshua knows to be Seungcheol’s house. His eyes scan the page quickly and he scrolls down to the comments section in dread.

 

            **_User8423_**

_Omg its yoon Jeonghan!!!!!!_

_**User8732**_

_Heolllllllllll are they dating?!_

_**User0912**_

_he really is so disgusting_

_leave the king alone_

_**User7653**_

_whos that?_

_**User4420**_

_looooooollll replay replay replay~~~~_

_**User6350**_

_Is this real??_

_**User5341**_

_kkkkk cursed prince is back_

_**User6652**_

_where are the hds hahahahaha_

_**User6540**_

_WOW!!!!_


	4. Chapter 4

Jeonghan wakes with a sharp but quiet inhale.

The room is dark and quiet. He blinks at the foreign bedroom ceiling and immediately stills, blood running icy cold with dread. It is hot and stuffy where he lies but he stays as still as he possibly can, eyes darting around in panic. His breathing stutters as he feels his hands break into cold sweat. The suffocating quiet of the room only amplifies the distorted static in his brain. Its loud, much louder than it usually is.

He’s afraid. Jeonghan daren’t turn to his left where he knows someone is lying next to him. That disgusting feeling of anxiety is gaining momentum and he clenches his fists, eyes blown wide at the ceiling. He hasn’t moved an inch since he first opened his eyes. His head is pounding, Jeonghan thinks he can hear his own blood pumping furiously. It’s his flight reflex. There’s so much noise in his head and he squeezes his eyes shut, a desperate attempt to quieten it down. He- 

A really loud, rumbly snore slices through the static.

Jeonghan startles and instinctively snaps his head to his left. His eyes widen at the sight of Seungcheol. _Choi Seungcheol._ He’s lying a gentlemanly distance away from Jeonghan, body curled towards the blonde and both palms cradling his face like a baby. Jeonghan blinks once, twice, thrice-

And realizes that Seungcheol doesn’t have any blankets on.

The room is quiet again. Jeonghan can hear the gentle whirl of the overhead fan and Seungcheol’s sporadic snoring.

Lifting his head slowly, Jeonghan realizes that they’d fallen asleep on Seungcheol’s blankets. He then glances down to the blankets he’s been wrapped very meticulously in and stares at them for a good few seconds. He untangles himself from the blankets slowly and quietly. When the blankets are loose, he flips the fabric over the both of them.

He lies back down, the same distance away from Seungcheol as he had woken up with. Jeonghan shifts in the bed and faces him, tucking both his hands under his face as well. Jeonghan doesn’t know how long he spends watching the rise and fall of Seungcheol’s breathing until he falls asleep again.

 

* * *

 

The painfully dissatisfying feeling of needing to sneeze and not having it come through, wakes Seungcheol. He rouses slowly and slightly disorientated, wriggling his nose as he does. When he opens his eyes, and sees a flash of blonde, his eyes fling wide open in surprise.

Jeonghan’s beautiful head of blonde hair is about an inch from his nose. It’s glowing from the morning sun. The little bits of dust particles in the air float about his head like a halo.

Seungcheol’s heart nearly leaps out of his mouth but he presses his lips together defiantly. He doesn’t want to wake Jeonghan. The blonde is huddled close to his chest, head tucked perfectly under his chin and yet, they don’t touch.

He relaxes into his bed and allows himself a quiet moment to appreciate how peaceful, how content Jeonghan looks. It makes his heart swell with emotion he cannot yet place. Seungcheol feels like he’s witnessing _something_. What it is, he isn’t sure. Jeonghan is always many things, he’s always been many things. It’s something Seungcheol has noticed since meeting Jeonghan all those months ago. It’s weird how long ago them meeting in studio c04 was. Seungcheol remembers exactly how Jeonghan looked, half reclined on the studio sofa with sleep-tousled hair. His heart had skipped a beat.

It’s weird how they’re here now, in Seungcheol’s bedroom inches from each other when months ago they couldn’t have been any further.

Seungcheol slows his breathing and tries to match the soft inhales Jeonghan makes as he sleeps. He lifts a tentative hand and hovers it over the blonde. Seungcheol hesitates for only a second before he brushes Jeonghan’s bangs gently out of his face. He wonders if he’s going to make a habit out of it. Seungcheol takes in a small breath at the sight of Jeonghan’s unguarded, tranquil face and he smiles. 

In Seungcheol’s bedroom, now bathed completely in the morning sun, they are in their own world and they lie together for a time that nobody takes note of.

Jeonghan stirs after a while, shifting a little and accidentally bumping his nose into Seungcheol’s neck. The baseball captain laughs quietly, the sound rumbling through his chest in a low tremor. Jeonghan looks up through sleep-filled eyes and blinks.

“Good morning,” Seungcheol whispers, his breath tickling Jeonghan’s forehead.

The blonde makes a soft noise from the back of his throat and ducks his head back down into the crook of Seungcheol’s neck. Seungcheol feels his heart sing but its song is quickly interrupted by the feeling of Jeonghan’s hand snaking around his torso. His heart is screaming, possibly also wheezing but who really cares?

Jeonghan is pressed against Seungcheol’s full length. Seungcheol’s blinks dumbly and wonders if Jeonghan can feel the operatic song his heart has started belting. Then Jeonghan whips away in a swift movement and before Seungcheol realizes what’s going on, the blanket that had been lost during the night gets forcefully dragged over him and onto the blonde.

The laugh it elicits out of Seungcheol is out of pure fondness and surprise. 

Jeonghan proceeds to wrap himself in the blanket, Seungcheol included and then nuzzles his head into the bed for a few seconds.

“I adore you,” the words slip out of Seungcheol’s lips in a breathless whisper before he can catch them. He stills as Jeonghan sleepy eyes focus on him. They hold their gaze for a long, intimate moment.

“I want to go out with you,” Seungcheol confesses. He’s a second away from exploding from emotion but he clings to his composure for Jeonghan’s sake.

The blonde blinks at him.

And then he says with a small smile, “No, you don’t.”

Seungcheol is taken aback at how sure Jeonghan sounds. He immediately has a million questions. Instead, he does what he knows to do best. He assures.

“I do,” he repeats earnestly, “I want to spend every waking hour with you and when I’m not awake I want to steal your blanket so you have to hug me to get it back.”

Jeonghan laughs now, the sound is magic to Seungcheol and Seungcheol cannot help but wonder if Jeonghan understands this. His laugh quietens and when it ends, it leaves the both of them suspended in a heart-fluttery hold of breath. Seungcheol flicks his eyes down to where Jeonghan’s lips are gently parted and when he looks back up, Jeonghan is staring at him.

Seungcheol’s heartbeat accelerates so quickly it fades out into a hum. He moves forward instinctively, the bed sinking in where his elbow pushes for purchase. Jeonghan doesn’t move away and the distance between them closes at an excruciatingly slow pace. Seungcheol stops just shy of Jeonghan’s lips, head tilted in the perfect angle.

He pauses to flit his eyes over Jeonghan’s face, checking for even the slightest bit of resistance. Seungcheol doesn’t find any. There’s the tiniest hit of a smile when Seungcheol presses his lips softly against Jeonghan’s. The small inhale Jeonghan makes isn’t lost on him and he lifts a hand to touch the side of Jeonghan’s face, thumb brushing at the corner of his lips.

It steals his breath away.

He wonders to himself if this is what people mean when they say they’re in love.

Jeonghan doesn’t press back into Seungcheol’s kiss but his lips part slightly. Seungcheol kisses him softly, unhurried. In the glow of the morning sun, he feels like he’s got forever. He doesn’t bite or nip at Jeonghan, favouring pressing kisses so light and so gentle on Jeonghan’s lips until his lips redden from the rush of contact.

The blonde takes in a shaky inhale and Seungcheol stops, pulling away just slight enough so he can look at Jeonghan.

 

* * *

 

Jeonghan puts a hand on Seungcheol’s chest. He doesn’t know if he’s meant to push Seungcheol away or pull him closer so his hand just rests uncertainly on the fabric of his shirt. His heart is racing, one part nervous and one part sweet.

Seungcheol hasn’t moved from where he’s pulled away. He’s looking at Jeonghan with an outpour of tenderness, so much that Jeonghan stays dazed in place. The deliberate space Seungcheol made is filled with respect and carefulness. It is also a silent question and one Jeonghan answers by leaning forward to close the distance between them.

He uses the hand he’s got on Seungcheol’s shirt to pull him closer.

 

* * *

 

They lie quietly with each other and Seungcheol watches Jeonghan’s fingers ghost the cuts and scabs he has from practice. Jeonghan catches Seungcheol’s gaze with a small furrow to his brow. Seungcheol smiles, cheeks dimpling and shakes his head. _It’s nothing._ The slight purse Jeonghan’s lips settle in makes Seungcheol laugh and he catches Jeonghan’s wandering hands in his.

Jeonghan looks down at where their hands touch and Seungcheol runs his thumb over his knuckles slowly. It follows the dip and rise of every knuckle before pulling in the other direction, quite like an ocean wave. It feels nice.

Neither of them know how long they spent just, being. 

When their arms started to ache from being in one position too long, they shifted to the other, moving like magnets pushing and pulling. Always circling and never crushing. Much like how the moon orbits the sun.

It is only when Jeonghan’s stomach growls unceremoniously that they even consider leaving the room.

“I told Joshua I’d bring you home in the morning,” Seungcheol murmurs against Jeonghan’s forehead. The blonde looks up from where his face was resting on Seungcheol’s shoulder and a slight _oh shit_ colours his face. 

“I texted him last night,” Seungcheol says calmly, rubbing a hand on Jeonghan’s back. The blonde makes a noise from the back of his throat and reluctantly pushes himself up, mourning the warmth Seungcheol radiated.

“-should still text him,” Jeonghan mumbles, rubbing his eye with the palm of his hand. Seungcheol nods and sits up as Jeonghan climbs down the bed to search for his phone.

“Table,” Seungcheol directs with a small tug of his head. Jeonghan finds his phone under a small plush hammerhead shark. He blinks at it in surprise before turning over to Seungcheol. The raven has an easy grin on his face and shrugs when Jeonghan’s eyebrows raise in a quiet question: _when?_

“I love it,” Jeonghan gasps quietly, picking it up with blush that overtakes his entire face.

“Didn’t feel right not taking him home. Look at his cute beady eyes.” Seungcheol smiles, head tilting to the side as he watches Jeonghan press its face.

“He’s perfect.” Jeonghan declares.

“Yes,” Seungcheol agrees, eyes only on Jeonghan. “He is.”

 

* * *

 

It is 1o’clock in the afternoon on a Sunday.

They had lazed around in bed the entire morning, Seungcheol thinks to himself in amusement. He pushes a few routine buttons on his coffee machine and reaches into his fridge to get the milk.

“Cereal?” He asks Jeonghan when the blonde walks into the kitchen, yawning. Jeonghan nods.

“Did you text Joshua?” Seungcheol asks, nose in the cupboards as he reaches for some of his healthy oat cereal. His hand hesitates for a second, wondering if Jeonghan would rather his secret stash of fruity pebbles.

“What kind of cereal do you want?” Seungcheol pokes his nose back out to peer at Jeonghan.

“Something that isn’t sweet,” Jeonghan puts his face in his hand and Seungcheol beams, pouring the oat cereal into a bowl.

“My phone died,” Jeonghan sighs, pushing uselessly at his home button.

“I have a charger in the living room,” Seungcheol says just as the doorbell rings. Jeonghan tugs a brow up, eyes moving to the direction of the door. Seungcheol pours some milk into the cereal and pushes the bowl towards the blonde.

“I’ll get it,” he beams.

Seungcheol walks quickly to the door, tripping over some empty pizza boxes on the way. He shoots them an accusing look and reminds himself to clear them later. Reaching the door in a few long strides, he grabs the handle and unlocks it.

He doesn’t expect to see Joshua when he opens the door.

“Oh! Hey!” Seungcheol grins warmly.

He also doesn’t expect the cold, steely gaze that Joshua wears. Seungcheol’s smile falters. He’s never ever seen Joshua wear an expression like this. Some part of him doesn’t think anyone has.

“Is Jeonghan still here?” Joshua’s voice is calm sounding but there’s something else in it that makes the hair on Seungcheol’s neck stand uncomfortably.

“Yeah,” Seungcheol forces out despite his discomfort, “he’s in the kitchen.” He moves aside for Joshua to come in. His heart drops when Joshua walks right in and heads straight for the kitchen. Seungcheol’s heart is racing and it is very unlike the racing it was doing this morning. He trails after Joshua with a worried look, completely forgetting that he’s left the front door wide open.

It happens very quickly.

Too quickly for Seungcheol to react and too quickly for him to ask what’s going on.

Jeonghan looks up at the sound of footsteps making their way to the kitchen. In his hand, a spoonful of Seungcheol’s oat cereal. Milk is dripping down the spoon. From where he is, Seungcheol cannot see what expression Joshua is wearing and doesn’t know if he’s changed it. A part of him is afraid to know because when Jeonghan looks up and locks eyes with his best friend, the beautiful flush Seungcheol had spent the whole morning building, drains from the blondes face quicker than the milk is spilling from his spoon.

Joshua hasn’t said a word but Jeonghan is fumbling for his phone that’s on the counter next to the hammerhead shark. Then he’s pushing himself off the kitchen stool with a frightened look in his eyes that sends a panic shiver down Seungcheol.

“Hey,” Seungcheol says. He wonders if the both of them can also hear his voice tremble. Neither of them look at him. Joshua’s back is facing him and Jeonghan’s eyes are latched onto Joshua, assessing and understanding what Seungcheol doesn’t.

The defensive curl of Jeonghan’s shoulders make Seungcheol prickle with the need to protect but he stands rooted where he is, eyes wide and unsure.

Joshua moves slightly so Jeonghan can squeeze past him and bolt to the door. Seungcheol opens his mouth to say something but Joshua turns to him now.

“Thank you for letting him stay the night.” He says with a curt nod.

“It’s no pro-” Seungcheol begins when Joshua turns on his heel and follows Jeonghan out his house.

When the front door closes with a loud click, Seungcheol is standing alone and confused.

 

* * *

 

Jeonghan straps his seatbelt on with shaking fingers. He stares blankly at them and clenches them into fists. Then, he puts each of them on his thighs. On his left, Joshua is silent as they pull out of Seungcheol’s neighbourhood.

The look on Joshua’s face when he had come to get Jeonghan, scared him. Joshua himself, didn’t scare him. It was the subtle clench of jaw, the stiffness to his back and the flash of anger in his eyes, all of which Jeonghan knows isn’t directed at him but still instilled a fear in him. He was afraid of whatever had made Joshua this way.

‘ _Where are we going_?’ Jeonghan wants to ask but the words don’t make it out of his lips. They are lodged in his throat. His pulse races with the discomfort of uncertainty. He’s only ever seen Joshua like this once. It was once enough.

His best friend clicks on his left signal and the car turns.

“We’re going to Jun’s.” Joshua says calmly. His voice is sweet as ever but it only makes Jeonghan nervous. The blonde worries the helm of his shirt and keeps his eyes on the road. The fast passing shrubbery and neighbouring cars blur into a kaleidoscope of colours.

Jun is both of their friends and they’ve known the dancer since freshman year. They catch up with each other every few weeks. Jeonghan knows that Jun occasionally calls Joshua but his own relationship with Jun is very much online. The dancer is admittedly one of Jeonghan’s most beautiful friends. They’re great friends and Jeonghan is always happy to see him.

But for some unexplained reason, the way Joshua said his name sends Jeonghan’s entire being into a sickening sense of dread.

 

* * *

 

There’s about a million messages, tagged photos and tagged posts in his phone notifications but only three people draw Seungcheol’s immediate attention. His frown deepens into something hard.

 

            **Mingyu (7:06am)**

_Hyung, I don’t know what’s going on???_

_Please tell me he’s not still with you???_

****

**** **Wonwoo (7:13am)**

_Gyu is freaking out unnecessarily._

_I would link the original post but I can’t find it anymore._

_Someone uploaded pictures of you and Jeonghan onto a blog and I don’t know why it’s such a big deal._

_It’s nothing._

**Jihoon (9:01am)**

_Call me._

 

If he was confused when Joshua showed up at his door and took Jeonghan, now he was just worried. And that worry was very quickly morphing into anger. When his outgoing call gets picked up within the first ring, the first thing he spits is, “What the **fuck** is going on?”

Seungcheol can hear Jihoon rubbing the side of his temples through his silence.

“You’re all over social media. Someone uploaded pictures of you and Jeonghan from last night.” Jihoon says a matter-of-factly. Seungcheol appreciates that. Jihoon grounds him when he’s emotional and emotional right now, is an understatement.

“Ok. People upload pictures of me all the time. Why is this any different?” Seungcheol closes his eyes and exhales slowly.

“It’s not you that’s the problem. It’s Jeonghan.” Jihoon says and Seungcheol doesn’t understand.

“What?”

“It’s Jeonghan. I told you. I don’t know, I can’t explain it. He’s just got-“

“Got what??” Seungcheol interrupts defensively.

“He’s the curse prince.” Jihoon finally says. 

“You _told_ me that they were just rumours. Rumours are **fucking dumb**. What is this even about?” Seungcheol snaps. A part of him is thankful that Jihoon knows him well enough not to assume that he’s mad at him. He’s just frustrated.

“I know. They’re dumb.” Jihoon agrees.

“Well??” Seungcheol says exasperatedly, “what’s this goddamn rumour?”

“I don’t know.”

Seungcheol nearly flings his phone at his bedroom wall.

 

* * *

 

Jeonghan is sat on Jun’s soft red sofa, eyes blown wide and unfocused. He’s been here countless of times but this time, it feels foreign. Minghao is at home too, Jun’s boyfriend of many years and Jeonghan had been staring at the plush Kermit that Minghao perched on a lamp. He only stops because his eyes hurt from focusing. There’s a cup of tea cradled in his hands but he hasn’t touched it since Minghao gave it to him. Across him, Joshua is sat in an armchair talking to Jun.

“I got the original post removed.” Jun says, lips curling with distaste on his handsome face. “But it’s already been circulated around. Now people are just talking about it.”

“This is fucking ridiculous.” Minghao lets out an exhale from next to Jeonghan. Some part of Jeonghan envies the younger guy, he wishes he could also exhale like that. He can’t. Right now, he can barely breathe. His mind races back to that time and grips the cushion next to him, nauseous.

“Did he…” Jun glances at Jeonghan cautiously, words trailing off. Joshua presses his lips together and Minghao looks at Jeonghan. The question, unfinished but not unheard, hangs heavily in the air.

“No.” Jeonghan says.

“Okay,” Jun nods after releasing a small breath of relief. Jeonghan tries to ignore how the other two also relax a little, relieved. “I’ve already reported some of the accounts but there’s not really much we can do with what people say on the internet. The photos were blurry and really, there isn’t much people can say about two people smiling at each other. It’s mostly taking off in the comments but from what I’ve read nobody really knows anything. I’m just worried someone knows and we might get caught off guard if someone has that edge over us.”

“This has been quiet for two whole years, why would it come back now?” Minghao asks with a frown. “And even if it did come out again, there’s nothing they can do other than to spread even more rumours.”

“People don’t care about the truth. We wouldn’t be here if they did. They just want to say mean things and if there’s an attractive victim attached, even better.” Jun sighs, looking over at Jeonghan with what Jeonghan daresay is a glimmer of pity. He resents it.

“Doesn’t matter.” Jeonghan dismisses, eyes focusing at a crumb on the coffee table. The three others stare at him quietly. The tension in the room makes Jeonghan sick so he sighs loudly and smiles.

“I told you,” the blonde flashes a grin at Joshua. His best friend’s face crumples into a mix of emotions; heartbrokenness, pity and anger. None of which do anything to make Jeonghan feel better. He only feels a stab of guilt because he knows that Joshua knows the weight of what those words mean.

“I don’t think it’s him.” Joshua counters firmly. Jeonghan pulls his lips into an emotionless smile. It is the best he can manage.

“Seungcheol doesn’t know.” Joshua says and Jeonghan’s heart clenches at the name. He feels a rush of emotion. Bits of last night and this morning still fresh in his mind. The feeling of being loved and safe, unjudged and protected. Jeonghan kills the feeling mercilessly. He laughs at himself, the chilling sound echoing through the living room. He’s a fool for even thinking this was any different.

The truth is, Joshua has always been the more optimistic one of the two of them. Whether it was or wasn’t Seungcheol, the entire matter was tied to him and that in itself was joke enough for Jeonghan to see. Jeonghan maintained that expectation only let to disappointment. He hasn’t been proven wrong yet. Joshua stares at him, hurt evident in his eyes but Jeonghan doesn’t look at him.

“Who posted it?” Minghao asks, “everyone who knows would have already graduated. Where is this coming from?”

Jun shakes his head slowly, “I don’t know.” 

“I do.” Jeonghan half smiles.

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol paces around his room for a second before decidedly calling Jeonghan. His mind has been racing with all sorts of awful possibilities and none of what he’s come up with seems like a bad enough reason for him to never speak to Jeonghan again. Heck, he doesn’t even know what’s going on. All he can think about is how Jeonghan paled at the sight of Joshua, and left without so much as an explanation and how he wants to hold him close and tell him that he’ll make it ok. Whatever it is.  

He presses his phone close to his ear and curses when it goes straight to voicemail. Jeonghan’s phone battery is dead.

He calls Joshua.

After five rings, the line is cut and Seungcheol is left more anxious and worried that he’d been before. He lets out a frustrated noise and flings his closet open to grab some clean clothes.

 

* * *

 

Joshua stares at Seungcheol’s name on his phone. The baseball captain has called him at least seven times now and every single time, Joshua has cut the line without hesitation. It is only when the calling stops that he hesitates. 

He’s filled with anger, an emotion he didn’t usually find himself feeling. He’s angry, angry with Seungcheol. Angry that he let this happen. Angry that he told Jeonghan to go ahead and that Seungcheol is great.

Underneath the anger, he’s confused and hurt. By proxy he’s heartbroken. The trust he put in Seungcheol has wavered but somehow, he cannot shake the feeling that they’re missing the bigger picture.

 

* * *

 

When Seungcheol shows up at baseball practise that evening, there’s a tension in the air that is difficult to ignore. Seungcheol’s put two and two together and realized that one of them released the photos. They were taken in _his_ house last night after all.

Instead of addressing the elephant in the room, he mechanically tells him the practice drill and sends them out to the field for twenty laps. He ignores the way Mingyu sporadically sends him worried looks and hardens his jaw. If anyone takes issue with the twenty laps, they don’t voice their opinion. That suits him just as well, Seungcheol feels like a rubber band about to snap.

He stretches his muscles like the rest and takes off, running the lead at a speed he knows he cannot keep up. He knows that by the fourth lap, his thighs will be burning and his lungs will be screaming but he ignores it and runs harder.

When he runs, his mind usually quietens down. There’s nothing for him to focus on other than his breathing and his pace. By his seventh round, Seungcheol feels like he is on fire and slows down his pace. He’s already overtaken majority of the team by multiple laps. Every time he runs past one of them, they duck their head down like they have something to hide. It only fuels his anger and confusion. Why would anyone of his boys do this?

Practice finishes after they play a few mock games and stretch down.

Then Seungcheol dismisses everyone and trudges to the locker room.

Mingyu hovers around him like a guilty puppy that’s torn the toilet paper and kicked down all the indoor plants. Seungcheol pulls of his sweat drenched uniform and shoots a look at Mingyu. The younger boy fiddles with his hands.

“Hyung, I don’t know what’s going on.” Mingyu begins. His troubled expression softens Seungcheol’s heart, but just a bit.

“I know,” Seungcheol says, a bit harsher than he’d intended. He realizes it when Mingyu winces.

“But I think one of us did it.” Mingyu powers through like a champ. Seungcheol turns to him slowly and despite being naturally shorter than Mingyu, Mingyu shrinks back from the flash of anger that sparks in Seungcheol’s eyes.

“Who,” Seungcheol asks. His voice is dangerously low as he turns on the shower. He’s completely naked whilst Mingyu stands fully clothed. He doesn’t fucking care and Mingyu doesn’t bat a lid.

“I don’t know.” Mingyu says again.

“Okay.” Seungcheol exhales. He squirts some shampoo into his hand and washes his hair wordlessly.

“What’s the rumour,” Seungcheol says after washing the soap out of his hair. Mingyu, still standing next to him is getting a little wet.

“The- Oh, um,” Mingyu mumbles. 

“You know it right?” Seungcheol tilts his head dangerously. “You seem like you know it.”

“I- I heard that he sleeps around a lot.” Mingyu nods, pressing his lips together, “and just in general he’s dated a lot of people and none of them have anything nice to say about him.”

“Have you spoken to any of these _people_?” Seungcheol asks, reaching for his towel and whipping it against the wall with a cruel smack. The sound crackles like thunder and Mingyu inhales slowly.

“No.” The younger boy says.

“Alright.” Seungcheol replies. “Is that it?”

“Um…”

“Is that all you know?” Seungcheol clarifies and Mingyu nods his head quickly.

“ _Fucking childish_ ,” Seungcheol bites under his breath. It isn’t directed at Mingyu but at the rumour. Seungcheol isn’t stupid though. That can’t be it.

“Thank you.” Seungcheol says, wrapping his towel around his waist and pressing a warm hand on Mingyu’s shoulder.

“I’d tell you if I knew anything more.” Mingyu’s face scrunches up.

“I know.” Seungcheol says softer, “I’ll figure it out.”

He gathers his things and is almost out the showers when Mingyu asks.

“Have- have you spoken to Jeonghan-hyung yet?" 

Seungcheol stills, heart heavy.

“No,” he turns to Mingyu, “no I haven’t.”

 

* * *

 

By the time Seungcheol reaches the university bar where he’d agreed to meet Wonwoo, the things being said on the internet had gotten way out of control. He scrolls through thousands of comments with a permanent scowl on his face and when he finally seats himself at the bar, he takes one look at Wonwoo’s face and says, “this is _bullying_.”

Wonwoo sighs softly from behind the bar, pouring Seungcheol a pint of dark beer. When he places it in front of him, Seungcheol downs half of it in one gulp. He then casts the pint aside and continues frowning at his phone.

“How was practice?” Wonwoo asks carefully.

“It was fine.” Seungcheol dismisses.

“Why are people doing this?” Seungcheol mumbles to himself. His eyes widen at a particularly awful post. They’re awful.

“I don’t think it’s helpful to look.” Wonwoo says carefully.

“Have you seen them?” Seungcheol asks, voice strained, “He’s just one person. There are over thousands of posts about him. I don’t think half of them even know who he is.”

“I have,” Wonwoo admits. Seungcheol makes a face at him and he shakes his head.

“Part of why this is a big deal is also because of you,” Wonwoo sighs. Seungcheol looks at him mortified and Wonwoo can already hear the millions of questions about to be hurled at him so he says, “King of the university, Scoups.”

Seungcheol clamps his mouth shut but his frown deepens.

“It’s Pledis. This isn’t new. Rumours spread all the time. It’s just that the rumours you’ve ever had were all good ones.” Wonwoo explains. Seungcheol makes a face of disagreement so Wonwoo continues.

“Well… MVP, captain of the baseball team, impossibly good looking, not just physically superior but also a graphics student so really, hyung, you’re, essentially perfect.”

“Don’t be fucking ridiculous.” Seungcheol snaps, frustrated, “Look at me.”

“I am looking,” Wonwoo nods and Seungcheol makes an exasperated face.

“I’m just saying. This is the first time anything close to a scandal has just about touched you. It’d bound to take off, especially since the person involved is Yoon Jeonghan”

“Will everyone stop talking about him like he’s cursed or something?” Seungcheol bites defensively.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to sound that way,” Wonwoo placates gently, he notes how Seungcheol bristles. “What I mean is, there is another side to the story that we don’t know. We know where rumours about you stem from, given, some of them may have been a tad bit exaggerated but still, rumours come from truth, no matter how small the truth may be. We don’t know where Jeonghan-hyung’s come from.”

“Mingyu says he’s slept around,” Seungcheol offers and Wonwoo raises an eyebrow.

“What? Like you haven’t slept around before Gyu.” Seungcheol sniffs. Wonwoo laughs.

“That’s not what I mean. How does Mingyu know that?” Wonwoo asks. 

“He told me just now.” Seungcheol shrugs. Wonwoo makes a thoughtful face.

“Anyway, I have a friend coming. He may know a little bit more.” Wonwoo looks up and Seungcheol turns to follow his gaze. It lands on a guy waving at them, weaving his way through the crowd that has their eyes on Seungcheol. He ignores them.

“Seungcheol, Soonyoung. Soonyoung, Seungcheol.” Wonwoo introduces when the guy sits down.

“Hey,” Seungcheol manages a smile and Soonyoung smiles back brightly before his smile falters when he realizes exactly how many people are staring at them.

“Woah,” he says hushed to Wonwoo, “you weren’t kidding.”

“You know something.” Seungcheol cuts right to the chase. He’s sick of not knowing. He’s sick of all these people staring at him. Wonwoo’s right, he’s always ever only been on the nice side of what rumours can do. Now that he was skirting the grey area, it’s kind of shit.

“Ah,” Soonyoung says before nodding slowly.

“Well… One of my friends is friends with this guy who know the guy whose brother used to go to university here.”

Seungcheol glances uncertainty at Wonwoo, who waves his hands as if to say _rumours._

“And I think Jeonghan was involved with one of the previous baseball captains. He’s graduated now though, obviously. Cause uh, you’re the captain.” Soonyoung finishes a little stupidly.

“Okay,” Seungcheol rubs his temples, “so what?”

“I think some shit went down. But most of the people who know have graduated already so I don’t think anyone knows what’s going on.” Soonyoung shrugs.

“Some _shit?_ ” Seungcheol repeats intimidatingly and when Soonyoung shrinks into his seat, Seungcheol catches himself. 

“So, none of these matter,” Seungcheol shakes his head, “It’s over. It’s past. It’s something that happened, what, when we were freshmen?”

Soonyoung nods before tilting his head uncomfortably.

“The thing is, I get the feeling someone knows and they want to drag it back. 

“Why?” Seungcheol has to exhale a breath. Wonwoo tops up his beer.

“I think it’s because it’s you.” Soonyoung says quietly.

 

* * *

  

Seungcheol cannot sleep at night. He twists and turns restlessly amongst his sheets. His phone has been buzzing since morning, people have been mentioning him and tagging him and posting things that’s been driving him mad.

He leans over to his bedside table to grab his phone and proceeds to mute every single media outlet he can possible think of. When he reaches Instagram, his fingers hesitate before decidedly searching Jeonghan up.

_1004_han_

Seungcheol’s thumb hovers over Jeonghan’s latest Instagram post. It’s from their aquarium date. He laughs bitterly as he clicks on it and his heart breaks at the thousands of hate comments that have found their way onto the post. He clutches his phone tightly and exits Instagram.

He pulls up Jeonghan’s number and calls him.

 

* * *

 

Jeonghan startles at the loud vibrations his phone makes on his bedside table and reaches for his phone. His heart stills at Seungcheol’s name and he stares at it as it continues to ring, vibrating sporadically in his hands.

In the darkness of his bedroom, Seungcheol’s name is the only source of light.

After what seems like forever to Jeonghan, his phone quietens and his room falls back into darkness.

Seungcheol doesn’t call again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (-:

Joshua wakes with a stiffness in his neck that he cannot shake. He frowns and reaches for his phone immediately. He squints at the messages and is thankful that Jun hasn’t found anything new. If anyone was going to be the first at anything online, it was him. 

Forcing himself out of bed, he pats quietly outside and is surprised to see Jeonghan sitting at the kitchen counter eating breakfast. He’s dressed in a nice stripped shirt and he’s paired it with his favourite cream chinos. If Joshua didn’t know any better, he’d think this was just another regular day, in a regular week. Nothing about it felt regular at all and the sight of Jeonghan munching lazily on his breakfast unsettled Joshua. 

“Good morning,” the blonde says in-between bites of his fruit. 

“You’re up early,” Joshua comments. Jeonghan makes a non-committal noise. Joshua stands unmoving where he is and after a few prolonged moments, Jeonghan looks up from his breakfast. It is wary but defensive. 

“I have class.” He sighs like Joshua is tiring him. 

“Of course.” Joshua nods with a quick smile before moving to the bathroom to wash up. 

 

* * *

 

Mingyu cannot decide which he dislikes more. Seungcheol being visibly upset and distracted or the team being awkward and quiet. They’ve been at this mock game for ages and nobody is concentrating. How can they play when it feels like the team is falling apart?

“Dude,” Minjae nudges him at with a worried look, “What’s up with everyone?”

Mingyu pulls his face into an unhappy one, “don’t prete- oh… you literally don’t ever use your phone.” He crinkles his brow at his friend, who makes a confused face back at him.

“What?”

“Someone- you know- you know who Yoon Jeonghan is?” Mingyu’s brain stutters as he tries to think of the best way to put this. It’s kind of shit having to tell your friend that one of your friends, who you still don’t know who, did something unpleasant.

“Everyone knows who he is,” Minjae rolls his eyes at Mingyu who shrugs agreeably before he says, “why?”

“Coups went out with him a few times.” Mingyu says, testing the reaction. To be really honest, Minjae was probably his favourite out of everyone. He was uncomplicated. Not that it matters but, Mingyu doesn’t think he did it.

“What????” Minjae’s eyes widen, face twisting in disbelief. It makes Mingyu uncomfortable. Minjae snaps his head to look at their captain.

“Why would he????” Minjae whispers, “He’s the cursed prince, he’s dangerous. Everyone knows this.”

Mingyu grimaces involuntarily because all Minjae is doing, is stirring the discomfort that’s already present in his gut.

“I know.” Mingyu whispers back before he straights his back in attention when Seungcheol glares at him from across the field. When the captain looks away, Mingyu leans over to his friend. “One of us posted something online about it.”

“One of **us**?” Minjae recoils back in offence and Mingyu slumps his shoulders.

“Well, it’s someone on the team.” He glares around the field littered with players and bites his inner cheek. 

“How can you be so sure?” Minjae shakes his head, visibly upset. “Why would any of us do that? We love coups.”

“One of us doesn’t.” Mingyu bites. Minjae frowns at the ground.

They stand in uncomfortable silence for a while before Mingyu runs a hand through his hair and turns to Minjae. The truth is, he’s been meaning to ask someone this. He’s spent the whole night thinking about it and he couldn’t come to a concrete enough answer so he asks: “What’s so bad about Yoon Jeonghan?”

Mingyu has heard enough about Jeonghan during his time at Pledis to know to stay away. He’s heard it since he first laid eyes on the blonde and told someone how beautiful the senior was. They told him not to go near him. And they told him that he’d regret it if he does.

So, he stayed away, at a comfortable distance, observing with caution but innocent curiosity. The senior just didn’t look _that_ bad. On his first day of work at the school café, Jeonghan had slid up to the counter with a contemplative face on. Already nervous, Mingyu straightens his back and smiles awkwardly. The blonde takes one look at Mingyu and says, “you’re new.”

“Y-yes.” Mingyu replies. Jeonghan makes an amused noise and suddenly, Mingyu’s face is burning red under the blonde’s scrutiny. There was just something about being caught in Jeonghan’s gaze. Mingyu wonders if this is a part of what people we were warning him about. A single pointed gaze from the senior had Mingyu feeling like he was being stripped bare and assessed. It was less threatening than it is teasing though, like being caught by a predator that isn’t hungry. One that is just looking to play with his food.

“Are you going to be as good as Suji? She made my coffee like a dream,” Jeonghan levels a playful gaze on Mingyu, who despite standing abnormally tall, takes a cautious step back from the counter. Jeonghan has a devious glint in his eye.

“Well! We won’t know until we try, will we?” Jeonghan leans over the counter, “I’d like a matcha Frappuccino with soy milk, can you put some of those chocolate chips in too? Yes, and add two shots cause why not and don’t use the full cup ice when you do, half is enough. Oh, and chocolate on my whipped cream when you finish – please~”

Mingyu blinks at him stupidly and when Jeonghan laughs, he decides he doesn’t like the guy.

“Really?” Minjae raises his eyebrows in disbelief at Mingyu’s question.

“Really.” Mingyu confirms.

“Well, I heard that he sleeps around a lot and you know, breaks hearts and what not. I mean, look at him… He’d probably break my heart if I tried.” Minjae sighs, waving a hand. Mingyu snorts in agreement.

“He’s got a reputation for being easy but at the same time, difficult? I think there was a game going on a few years ago. Some people were betting on how long it’ll take for them to get in his pants.” Minjae makes his distaste obvious by clicking his tongue. “But they were all ruined.”

“ _Ruined????_ ” Mingyu’s eyes widen, “Like, what? Did Jeonghan-hyung beat them up?” Mingyu’s jaw drops as he tries to imagine Jeonghan getting into a fight. He can’t. It doesn’t make sense.

“No, you idiot.” Minjae swats at him before shrugging, “they just dropped out.” 

“Of uni?” Mingyu exclaims.

“Yeah. They just left Pledis.” Minjae nods slowly, “the cursed prince. He’s cursed. If you get involved with him, you’re done for-“

Minjae snaps his mouth shut before he can finish. Seungcheol is stalking across the field towards the both of them. He looks angry.

They’d both been standing gossiping like children on the field.

 

* * *

 

The house is quiet when Mingyu isn’t around. Both his best friend _and_ his flatmate, both of whom he loves despite never really saying it, have been in the worst of moods ever since this cursed prince fiasco blew up. Seungcheol’s been quiet and Jihoon fears that frown he’s been sporting for the past few days will permanently brand his handsome face. The thought of it makes Jihoon miserable. Almost as miserable as it makes him see Mingyu worry over this and break more of their tableware than usual when he washes the dishes.

Jihoon narrows his eyes at the sea of comments flooding in from people that probably don’t even go to Pledis. He’s been combing through the web for _hours_ trying to find some sort of lead or reason or really, he’s looking for any fucking thing. All he’s got so far is that Yoon Jeonghan is cursed and Jihoon hasn’t even figured out why. He _does_ know that the public seems to really enjoy discussing how they want to fuck him though. He slams his mouse down in frustration and exhales sharply from his nostrils.  

 _Disgusting._  

He’s not entirely sure where he stands on this whole _Jeonghan episode_ but if anything is sure, these comments are only making him want to take Jeonghan’s side. Jihoon’s known Jeonghan since the start of university. The blonde was always the talk of the music department and Jihoon just assumed it was because he was out-of-worldly beautiful. 

The first time Jihoon had an encounter with Jeonghan, he was in his first year. He was locked out of the music building because his key card hadn’t been activated. It was only his second week. Jihoon stood outside the building waiting for another music major to show up so that he can get to class. He’d been waiting for at least twenty minutes and was _this_ close to breaking the door down when someone taps lightly on the glass.

Jihoon turns to see Jeonghan standing inside the music building smiling at him. His first reaction is to sigh with relief but Jihoon’s natural suspicious nature kicks in. It doesn’t help that the blonde has a playful glint in his eye. The senior doesn’t seem to be moving to the button to let Jihoon in. He’s just standing across from him, smiling.

When Jeonghan lifts his hand in a fist, makes an entertained face and mouths _scissors, paper, stone_ , Jihoon thinks: **are you motherfucking kidding me**

Jeonghan let Jihoon in after four rounds of the game and after Jihoon _finally_ won and the blonde had skipped off with a cheeky grin. Jihoon’s kept a close eye on the senior ever since.

His phone _pings_ and he stretches across his desk to reach for the device.

It’s Soonyoung.

 

* * *

 

Jeonghan spends three suffocating hours in the recording studio going back and forth with the recording advisor, Bumzu. Nothing he’s sung so far feels right and the harder he tries, the worse he sounds. Bumzu’s voice crackles over the studio speakers: “Let’s take a break.”

It is humiliating.

He nods and smiles apologetically through the soundproof glass before setting aside his earphones and exiting the studio. Jeonghan had been planning this recording for weeks and now that the day was here and he wasn’t performing, it stung.

“What’s up?” Bumzu asks the moment he emerges from the room. Jeonghan looks at him with a smile and a head tilt.

“What’s wrong?” His advisor clarifies, face softening, “You know you can always talk to me.”

Jeonghan laughs, the sound is light and angelic.

“I know, hyung,” the blonde smiles, bowing a little, “just had a late night. I’ll be better when my voice warms up.”

Bumzu makes an unconvinced face. It’s been three hours. Jeonghan’s voice has had many a chance to warm up.

“Let’s rain check this.” Bumzu says, opening up his schedule.

“No,” Jeonghan shakes his head, dismayed. “No, I can do it.”

“Jeonghan, forcing this isn’t going to make you happy. This is your solo.” Bumzu looks the blonde in the eye and says seriously. Jeonghan lowers his head. 

“I have a free slot next week.” Bumzu nods, eyeing his schedule. “Friday, 2pm good for you?”

“Yes.” Jeonghan says quickly. He doesn’t even look at his schedule but if he had something planned on Friday, now he doesn’t.

 

* * *

 

The silence Wonwoo pulls earns him a pointed stare from Seungcheol. The younger boy shakes his head slowly and puts his phone away. They’ve been sitting at the café for a few hours now. It is unsaid, but Wonwoo thinks Seungcheol is waiting for Jeonghan to show up. Wonwoo isn’t sure that’s going to happen. There’s no other reason why they’ve chosen to study here when the library proves to be a far more superior option. He lifts his coffee to his mouth and sips at it slowly, eyeing his friend a little sadly. 

When they met after Seungcheol’s baseball practice, Wonwoo had taken one look at his friend and decided it didn’t go very well. There’s a tired tension to Seungcheol that Wonwoo suspects is from worry. He’s been wondering if Seungcheol’s heard anything from Jeonghan but by the looks of it, Wonwoo doesn’t think he has.

Seungcheol has barely said a sentence since they sat down, occupying himself with typing at an unforgiving pace on his keyboard. Wonwoo doesn’t think he’s ever seen Seungcheol this down, for this long. Seungcheol usually fluctuates. He swings high and skirts the lows but he always pulls himself back. It’s his charm: Choi Seungcheol is full of empathy. He feels all the sadness but also, all the happiness. It is something Wonwoo had always perceived as admirable. Not many people can tap into that kind of headspace. It makes Seungcheol stronger.

It makes him better.

He always remembers to be kind when nobody is. 

Taking a lesson or two from the man himself, Wonwoo sits with Seungcheol for the next few hours despite having absolutely nothing to do at the café. 

 

* * *

 

The obnoxious ring tone that blasts through the dance studio, interrupting practice, makes Chan duck his head in embarrassment as he mumbles a quick apology and jogs to his things. He makes a face of desperation at the caller. He already knows who’s calling because he changed the ringtone to warn himself. He winces as he cuts the line and bows multiple apologies to the rest of the class. Chan flicks his silent mode on and is about to get back into position when he pauses to glance at his phone again. 

He’s not calling back like he always does.

Chan bows another apology and excuses himself from practice. Fingers working quickly, he calls him back.

“Dino-ya,” the voice crackles over the other end. 

“Jeonghan-hyung,” Chan furrows his brow instinctively, unsettled. Jeonghan only called him Dino when something was off. It’s something Chan had picked up on. Dino was what Jeonghan had called him since they were kids, when Jeonghan announced to everyone that Chan was going to dominate the charts and crush everyone because he was _that_ powerful. Chan was only nine.

Over time, the nickname became something embarrassing. As embarrassing as childhood nicknames become. Chan started ducking his head down in defiance when Jeonghan called him Dino in public. It went on for so long, Jeonghan dropped it altogether. No words were exchanged, no talk was had. It was only then that Chan missed it and when he enrolled in Pledis, he signed on the papers Dino as his stage name. It was an admission of how much Jeonghan meant to him, whether or not he said it out loud.

When Jeonghan found out, he just smiled at Chan.

Jeonghan smiles all the time and it is _always_ stunning. The blonde actually had a nickname of his own: _angel,_ but unlike Chan, he wore his nickname like a trophy. It was kind of cheesy and on some days, Chan thinks that Jeonghan actually hates it but through it all, he smiles. Chan has watched Jeonghan switch through his arsenal of smiles and learnt to find the good ones. There were cheeky ones (these were common), flirty ones (Chan doesn’t want to elaborate), charming ones (dangerous), challenging ones (frightening), sad ones – the list goes on but Chan has a favourite.

It’s the one that overtook Jeonghan’s face when the MC introduced Chan as Dino at his first showcase. The spot light clicked on and Chan found Jeonghan almost immediately in the audience. Third row from the front, elbows resting on his knees in anticipation. When Jeonghan heard _Dino,_ he sat up slowly and the smile that overtook his face from pure love and pride seared into Chan’s heart.

“Are you in class?” Jeonghan asks in a soft, curious voice.

“No,” Chan lies easily, kicking his heels on the floor.

“ _Hmmmmm_ ,” the sound Jeonghan makes tells Chan, he knows he’s lying. He wonders if Jeonghan will comment on it but he doesn’t. Instead he asks: “Want to hang out with hyung?”

“Are you hiding from Jisoo-hyung again?”

The laugh Jeonghan chuckles makes Chan think he is.

 

* * *

 

Mingyu collapses into his flat after practice with a tired groan. He kicks off his shoes and makes for the couch but pauses to go back to arrange his shoes neatly. Satisfied, he falls onto the couch with a loud sigh.

“Jihoon-hyung?” he calls out loud and waits. When no response comes, Mingyu wiggles on the couch to get his phone from his back pockets. He glances at the time and makes an ‘oh’ noise. Jihoon is at work.

He lies still for a few minutes, savouring the feel of the couch before picking up his phone again and calling his best friend.

“Hey,” Minghao’s voice is familiar and warm over the phone. Mingyu smiles instinctively.

“You doing anything right now?” Mingyu asks.

“I’m on my way home actually,” Minghao replies. Mingyu thinks he can hear people chattering in the background. Minghao’s probably still on campus.

“Wana come over?” Mingyu suggests, toeing off his socks while at it, “I’m feeling some wine.”

Minghao laughs.

“Red or white?” Mingyu thinks he can hear the agreeable smile on his best friend’s face.

“You pick.” Mingyu shrugs.

“See you in fifteen.”

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol is worrying his lower lip furiously as he types and retypes a message to Jeonghan. He can’t seem to find the right words to say what he wants to say. He actually isn’t very sure what to say. There are a million things he wants to ask but the most pressing one is, “are you okay?”

The blonde hasn’t picked up any of his calls. He hasn’t actually expected him to, but one can hope. He looks up from his phone when Soonyoung slides into a chair next to Wonwoo.

“Hi hyung,” Soonyoung lifts a friendly hand, eyes morphing into little moons.

“Hey,” Seungcheol smiles back warmly. Wonwoo leans forward onto the desk and looks expectantly at Soonyoung.

“Right, so.” Soonyoung places his hands on the table. “His name is Lee Hyunwoo. The baseball captain that Jeonghan was involved in. I don’t know what kind of involvement, I’m working on that but I squeezed his name out from my friend.”

“I’ve heard of him.” Seungcheol says immediately, eyes flitting to Wonwoo in a mix of concern and surprise.

“Yeah?” Soonyoung nods expectantly.

“He was…” Seungcheol trails off in thought before looking back at the two, “I’ve only met him once at a party. He was really nice to me. I know everyone liked him.”

“Huh,” Soonyoung makes a noise.

“What?” Wonwoo raises a brow at him.

“He dropped out though,” Seungcheol shakes his head, “I don’t know why. He was well on his way to graduating as well. He was an acting major. I heard there were already companies looking to sign him.”

“That’s weird,” Wonwoo comments.

“Oh,” Soonyoung frowns, “I didn’t know he dropped out.”

“Yeah, I was told it was kind of sudden.” Seungcheol nods slowly in thought.

 

* * *

 

Joshua knocks on Bumzu’s studio door before letting himself in. The sight of the recording advisor alone in his studio makes him frown. He was meant to get late lunch with Jeonghan. The blonde hasn’t replied to any of his messages or picked up any of his calls.

“If you’re looking for angel, he’s left the building.” Bumzu offers with a smile, taking a sip of his coca cola. Joshua pushes his worry down and smiles politely.

“How- how did the recording go?” Joshua asks.

“We’re doing it next week.” Bumzu shakes his head, “you know what’s up with him?”

Joshua presses his lips together in a defeated line and Bumzu eyes him. When the younger guy remains tight lipped, Bumzu sighs, “You kids are so secretive. Well, I’m sure it’ll work out. Whatever it is.”

“Yeah,” Joshua nods quickly, “I hope so.”

 

* * *

 

The moment Jeonghan lays eyes on Chan, his face lights up and he crushes the younger boy into an embrace.

“Hy _ung_ ,” Chan greets, voice muffled in Jeonghan’s chest. 

“Ew, you’re sweaty.” Jeonghan giggles as he lets him go, making a face as he does. Chan eyes his older brother. They weren’t technically related by blood, but they grew up together so they felt like family.

“I thought you were recording your solo today?” Chan asks curiously. Jeonghan huffs and waves a dismissive hand.

“It got postponed.”

“Oh,” Chan makes a worried face and Jeonghan immediately shakes his head. 

“My recording advisor was busy so he asked for a rain check,” the blonde explains with an easy smile, “don’t worry. Stop. Don’t make that face. What did we say about that face?”

“You don’t like my face because it makes you feel bad,” Chan drones.

“I **love** your face!” Jeonghan gasps dramatically before deadpanning, “I just don’t like _that_ one.”

“Yes, yes,” Chan nods slowly, robotically. Jeonghan chuckles.

“I brought some snacks,” The blonde throws a hand over Chan’s shoulder and shakes a bag of snacks in front of his face. “I got milk tea for you.” Jeonghan beams when Chan’s face brightens in an innocent moment.

“Can we go somewhere?” Jeonghan peers around Chan at the many dance studios. The dance majors that have walked past the pair have all whispered excitedly and taken double takes. Chan knows it’s because its Jeonghan. Everyone is always floored at how beautiful he is. The real frightening thing is, the effect hasn’t even dulled despite Chan actually growing up with Jeonghan. Sometimes he still spaces out at his older brother.

“You want to go outside?” Chan suggests.

“No,” Jeonghan says quickly, “Let’s stay here. Show me your studio or something.”

“I thought you didn’t like my dance studios because they smell funny.” Chan laughs.

“They do,” Jeonghan insists seriously, “but let’s see them anyway.”

 

* * *

 

Minghao watches Mingyu pour the red wine he brought over with an evaluative gaze. Mingyu’s looked a little off ever since he let Minghao in. He looks distracted and worried and he’s already broke a wine glass. Minghao waits until his best friend is finished and settled in his chair from across him. He picks up his wine glass and raises it with a slight tilt of his head. Mingyu grins back.

“So, are we going to talk about it?” Minghao finally says, running a hand through his long, dark fringe before looking straight at Mingyu.

“About what?” Mingyu clears his throat unnaturally before pausing to sip his wine.

“Whatever,” Minghao gestures a hand at Mingyu’s person, “this is.”

“It’s nothing.” Mingyu shrugs. Minghao waits a few moments and watches as Mingyu shifts uncomfortably in his seat before he says, “Ok.”

“So, Seungcheol-hyung,” Mingyu blurts and Minghao hides his knowing smile. The smile doesn’t stay on for long because he snaps his head up at his best friend sharply.

“What?” Minghao says, voice hard.

“What?” Mingyu blinks back, eyes wide at the change in him. Minghao is frowning at his wine. He had thought that name sounded familiar when Joshua mentioned it. It’s the guy who-

“I just said Seungcheol-hyung is having a hard time and I don’t know how to fix it.” Mingyu makes a distressed face but Minghao stares continuously at his wine, mind racing.

“You know him.” Minghao says, voice hard. Mingyu blinks at his best friend.

“He’s the captain of the baseball team.” Mingyu says slowly, confused and cautious. He’s never seen Minghao angry. Okay, he _has_ but it doesn’t happen often and when it does, it’s usually loud in a mix of Korean and Chinese. Not quietly seething like it is now.

“He’s the captain of the b-“ Minghao echoes incredulously, a humourless laugh bubbling up in his chest. Mingyu leans forward, eyes wild with worry. 

“What’s going on?” He asks quickly, “Why do you sound like you hate him? Why-“

“I don’t hate anyone.” Minghao interrupts him but Mingyu is unconvinced.

“Wait,” Mingyu holds a hand up, wine abandoned. “I’m confused. What’s going on?”

“He posted shit online and now the entire university is talking about Jeonghan-hyung.” Minghao says lowly, threateningly. “You know this guy. You better tell him that-“

“He didn’t do it,” Mingyu exclaims frantically, hand on his forehead and desperate, “He didn’t do it, I swear he didn’t do it. There is no way he did it.”

Minghao’s eyes flash angrily as he watches his best friend defend Choi Seungcheol. The rational part of him struggles to push down the wave of anger that’s begun building. The sight of Mingyu distressed and desperate reins him down.

“Y-you know Jeonghan-hyung?” Mingyu asks quietly, eyes wide. 

“Yes.” Minghao bites. The pair share a moment of silence. Minghao, jaw tense and unsure of what to do with the information. Mingyu, anxious at the change in Minghao but burning with questions. 

“Eight,” Mingyu breaks the silence with Minghao’s nickname, “Seungcheol-hyung didn’t do it. I swear.”

Minghao takes a slow intake of breath and releases it.

“Okay.” He replies.

“But it was one of the baseball boys.” Mingyu’s brow furrows miserably.

“Of course, it was,” Minghao snorts, just short of rolling his eyes. Mingyu is taken aback but he doesn’t say anything.

“Who is it?” Minghao asks softer, but the question sends a strange bolt of unease down Mingyu’s spine.

“I haven’t found him yet.” The taller boy admits before hardening his gaze, “but I will.”

“How… how do you know Jeonghan-hyung?” Mingyu continues bravely.

“He’s good friends with Jun.” Minghao sighs.

“Seungcheol-hyung has been trying to reach him.” Mingyu begins, “Please can you-“

“Don’t even think about.” Minghao cuts him off. 

Mingyu clamps his mouth shut. He needs to work around this Minghao. He knows him, they’re best friends and they don’t lie to each other. They trust each other. That’s probably the only thing really preventing Minghao from storming out of here. Mingyu cannot even imagine how angry Minghao must be, he’s seen the comments online. There’s been talk of Seungcheol but it’s got nothing on what’s been said about Jeonghan.

“Can you tell me about the rumours?” Mingyu asks quietly.

“No,” Minghao says, there’s no heat to it. Just resignation.

“It’s not my story to tell.”

 

* * *

 

Wonwoo and Soonyoung sit with Seungcheol for a long while. A long enough while for Seungcheol to feel bad.

“You don’t have to sit here with me,” He tells Wonwoo after the younger boy comes back from the café with his third drink. He’s having an iced coffee.

“I know,” Wonwoo smiles, “I'll go when this one leaves.” He points to Soonyoung on his left. Soonyoung nods and says, “I’ve got to go soon. I’m meeting som-“

Soonyoung’s phone lights up on the table and Seungcheol’s eye flit to it instinctively.

“Are you-“ Seungcheol snaps his head up at Soonyoung, eyes wide and a genuine smile overtaking his face. Soonyoung’s eyes widen as he grabs his phone off the table to see that Jihoon has texted him.

“Um,” Soonyoung blurts. Wonwoo clasps a hand over his own mouth in amusement. Seungcheol is grinning now.

“Are you the mysterious dance major that’s seeing Jihoon?” Seungcheol raises his eyebrows.

“Myster-“ Soonyoung echoes, “Did he call me _mysterious_????”

Seungcheol snorts a laugh.

“No! He hasn’t said a thing, he’s being all secretive with me. Oh my god.” Seungcheol’s face dimples in affections. Soonyoung laughs nervously.

“I’m- We’re- uh,” Soonyoung stammers and Wonwoo pats his back lightly.

“Yes,” Wonwoo answers for him. Soonyoung throws his friend a grateful smile. 

“I’m glad,” Seungcheol says earnestly, “Truly.”

“Thank you,” Soonyoung fully blushes in front of Seungcheol, “I uh- I have to go. I said I’d meet him at the dance studios.”

“Go,” Seungcheol smiles softly. “Thank you, for all your help.” Then he looks at Wonwoo and jerks his head towards Soonyoung.

“Go,” he says.

Wonwoo stays where he is with a defiant tilt to his head.

“ _Go,_ ” Seungcheol sighs with a gentle smile, “I’m fine.”

 

* * *

 

Chan sits beside Jeonghan munching on some of the snacks the older boy had brought. The studio that Chan took them to, is small and homely. It’s the one that he and Soonyoung practice in and is his favourite. He crunches the chips and looks at Jeonghan. The blonde has been quiet for the past half hour. After he insisted Chan show him his newest choreography and then raved and gushed about it over and over again, he settled against the wall. Chan wasn’t born yesterday (even though Jeonghan still calls him his baby), he knows something is off.

Instead of asking if something is wrong, Chan puts his head on Jeonghan’s shoulder. He feels Jeonghan shift slightly to accommodate the weight and then feels Jeonghan drop his head onto his. They stay there for a while and Chan waits.

“I’m scared.” Jeonghan finally says.

Chan takes his hyung’s hand and holds it. Jeonghan lets him. 

“It might happen again.” Jeonghan says so softly, Chan almost misses it. He wants to ask if this is about the thing he’s been seeing online, everywhere but he doesn’t. He just rubs Jeonghan’s hand gently.

“I screwed up my recording.” The blonde admits quietly, “Bumzu told me to come back next week.”

“I haven’t answered Jisoo’s calls, I know he’s worried.” Jeonghan continues, voice softer and trailing off.

“I want to see him,” Jeonghan breathes and Chan doesn’t think he means Joshua. “I don’t know how to te-“

Jeonghan inhales sharply and stiffens when he hears people outside the studio. Chan lifts his head and glares at the disruption. He stands defensively when someone pushes the door open, ready to tell them that the room is occupied, but he sees Soonyoung.

“Chan?” Soonyoung’s eyes widen at the sight of him and his eyes flit to the person behind him, eyes widening even larger at Jeonghan. Behind him, someone else walks in. It’s Jihoon. 

“Hyung,” the words leave Chan’s lips in a whisper. His eyes dart from Soonyoung to Jihoon and back to Soonyoung again.

Chan stands his ground, body half covering Jeonghan and Soonyoung stops at the door with Jihoon behind him. There is a delicate tension in the room. It’s feels fragile, like as if, if Chan moved, it would fall apart. He feels stuck between Jeonghan and Soonyoung.

“Let’s go,” Jihoon cuts through the silence with a steady voice, “We didn’t know there was anyone here. We’re sorry.” He grips Soonyoung’s arm and begins gently tugging the dancer away. Soonyoung glances worriedly from Chan to Jeonghan, who stares back.

“Seungcheol is-“ Soonyoung begins, face crumpling.

“ _Soonyoung,_ ” Jihoon warns. Soonyoung pauses to look at Jihoon, almost desperately. He doesn’t need to say anymore, Jihoon understands him. But it wasn’t their place.

“Please,” Soonyoung looks past Chan and to the blonde on the floor, “he’s just worried. He just wants to talk.”

Jihoon lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. In all honesty, when he saw Jeonghan in the studio, all he wanted to do was to plead ‘please talk to Seungcheol.’ But he couldn’t. A part of him is thankful that Soonyoung said it but the other part of him feels like they’ve imposed on something they shouldn’t have.

“Let’s go,” Jihoon says softer, pulling Soonyoung away with a firm grip.

The door clicks behind them as they leave and Chan relaxes his body. He looks down at Jeonghan and the blonde looks up at him with a small smile.

It’s not his favourite one.

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol rubs the surface of his phone with his thumb. He rereads the message he’s written to Jeonghan a few times before he sends it.

 

            **Seungcheol (6:19pm)**

_I am sorry this is happening._

_I don’t know what’s going on,_

_but I’ll fix it._

_Are you okay?_

_Tell me what I can do_

_to make it better_

* * *

 

Jeonghan stares blankly the message Seungcheol’s sent him. Chan is next to him also looking but the younger boy remains quiet.

“Do you think I should call him?” Jeonghan asks Chan, eyes still on the phone. Chan hugs his knees to his chest.

“Do you want to?” Chan’s voice is soft. Jeonghan makes a face and Chan laughs quietly.

“I’ll give you some space, hyung.” Chan says after a while. He shuffles to get up but Jeonghan catches his arm.

“Don’t go,” the slight crack in Jeonghan’s voice makes Chan’s heart hurt and the younger boy nods, sitting back down. He watches as Jeonghan takes in a shallow breath and calls Seungcheol.

 

* * *

 

“Jeonghan,” Seungcheol sounds breathless when he picks up but his voice is deep and comforting over the line. Jeonghan thinks that it’s really hilarious how much just hearing his voice makes him feel less afraid. He doesn’t say anything back. He’s not sure what to say. He’s already regretting calling.

“Are you okay?” Seungcheol asks, softer.

Jeonghan nods even though Seungcheol cannot see him.

“Can I see you?” Seungcheol continues.

“I’m sorry,” Jeonghan says, voice coming out clear and controlled.

“It’s okay,” Seungcheol says, “I just- I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m sorry this happened.” Jeonghan continues, voice steady.

  
“It’s fine.” Seungcheol replies quickly, “It doesn’t matter.”

“I don’t think we should s-“ The words catch in his throat and Jeonghan resents it. **Finish the sentence** , he berates himself. He clenches his fist and focuses his eyes on Chan’s half-drunk bottle of milk tea.

Seungcheol is waiting for him to finish.

“I don’t think-“ Jeonghan begins again. The words die off quicker than before and he presses his lips together.

“Please let me see you.” Seungcheol says quietly when Jeonghan doesn’t continue.

 

* * *

  

“Where are they meeting?” Joshua’s voice is calm and sweet over the phone. Chan fidgets where he stands. Jeonghan left about ten minutes ago and told him to wait here. He waited the ten minutes before guilt started eating at him. Both guilt and worry actually, so he called the first person he could think of that would know what to do.

“The dance building.” He confesses, “Are- are you coming here?”

Joshua lets out a little breath of relief before saying, “No. You keep watch for me okay? If anything happens, call me. I’ll just be five minutes away.”

“Okay,” Chan nods.

“Chan,” Joshua’s voice crackles gently over the phone, “It’ll be okay.”

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol runs faster than he’s ever run in his life, past and out the music building, across the big student quad and down the long flight of stairs to the dance building. When he reaches, he’s breathless and his heart is pumping furiously in his chest. He quickly scans the building numbers and looks for the signs before heading in the direction of block 95. 

He jogs past block 93 – 94 and then he rounds the corner and stops.

The sight of Jeonghan standing alone and looking up at the darkening sky takes his breath away. His heart drums in his chest. It’s been a few days since he’s seen Jeonghan and they’ve been the longest few days he’s ever had to wait. The rush of emotion building momentum in his chest threatens to spill over.

The blonde pulls his gaze away from the sky and looks at him.

Seungcheol takes a step forward and then another and then another and then-

He’s in front of Jeonghan, willing his hands to stay by his side and resisting the urge to pull him into his arms. 

“Hey,” He rasps, voice less steady than he thought it’ll be.

“Hey,” Jeonghan says, half smile on his lips, “I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Seungcheol shakes his head continuously.

“I thought you knew about, um,” Jeonghan stops again and Seungcheol’s face falls.

“I thought-” Jeonghan takes a shaky breath, “But you didn’t so- I’m sorry this happened and it’ll be better for you if you weren’t seen with me.”

“I don’t care,” Seungcheol breathes, still shaking his head. He doesn’t understand half of what Jeonghan means. “I don’t care about what people say.”

Jeonghan laughs.

“You will,” he says, eyebrows slanting down in a way that breaks Seungcheol’s heart.

“I don’t.” Seungcheol says resigned, “I don’t give a fuck about what people say. Fuck them.”

“I’m cursed.” Jeonghan offers.

“Fuck that,” Seungcheol bites and it startles Jeonghan into actually, genuinely laughing.

“That’s not the usual reaction I get.” The blonde chuckles.

“I don’t know who you’ve been talking to, but fuck them.” Seungcheol continues.

“Don’t you want to know why?” Jeonghan laughs quieter and Seungcheol makes a face.

“Is that important?” Seungcheol asks.

“Maybe,” Jeonghan shrugs.

“It’s probably stupid.” Seungcheol offers, shrugging back. Jeonghan laughs, lifting a hand to cover his smile. Seungcheol wishes he didn’t.

“You’re an idiot.” Jeonghan says.

“Okay,” Seungcheol accepts, “Can I hold you now?”

Jeonghan blinks at him in surprise but he doesn’t say no.

Seungcheol takes a step forward and wraps his arms around Jeonghan like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Jeonghan doesn’t stiffen like he expects himself to and when Seungcheol presses a soft but sure kiss to his head, he almost sobs.

 

* * *

 

Joshua picks up Jun’s call the second the dancer’s name flashes on his screen.

“They found it,” Jun cries out into Joshua’s ear and his blood runs cold, “they found it and they posted it.”

Joshua’s mind blanks.

 

* * *

 

Minghao stands abruptly from where he’s seated across Mingyu, his chair falling nosily behind him. His phone is in his hand and his eyes are shaking.

“Eight?” Mingyu stands slowly, hand reaching out warily.

“Fuck,” Minghao whispers, “fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

Mingyu nearly trips over himself on the way to Minghao and when his eyes land on the picture Minghao is looking at, his face pulls into shock.

“What the fuck is that?” he grits out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (-,:


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> False alarm - this is not the last chapter.

Seungkwan is sat on the corner by the road, ice popsicle in hand and smile on his face when Vernon comes out for his break.  

“Hey,” an easy smile overtakes Vernon’s face as he seats himself next to the older (if only by slightly over a month). 

“Want some?” Seungkwan asks him, holding his ice popsicle out in offering. Vernon nods and takes it, biting off the top chuck and stumbling backwards when Seungkwan gasps and smacks him. 

Mouth full of ice, he furrows his brows expressively in question.

“Don’t bite it!” Seungkwan groans, wrestling with him for the rest of the popsicle. Vernon laughs, entertained before willingly handing it back. 

“You’re meant to bite them,” he says cheerfully despite the pointed glare Seungkwan throws his way. He laughs again when Seungkwan huffs. 

“Okay, show me,” Seungkwan sniffs, holding his free hand out and opening and closing it in a grabby motion. Vernon grins. 

He reaches into this back pocket to pull out his phone and the both of them huddle over the screen as Vernon pulls out a video. 

“So, he like, animated me into a video,” Vernon says excitedly, fingers moving quick and clicking away. They’re temple to temple staring at the animation. 

“I come up at 50 seconds,” Vernon gushes. Seungkwan eyes the video with interest. It’s at 46 seconds, 47 seconds, 48 seconds, 49 seconds –

And then Vernon’s phone vibrates and an email banner blocks the video at the 50th second. Seungkwan’s eyes trail to the banner and he blinks at it confused before Vernon unceremoniously swipes it away. 

“Spam,” he sighs, frowning over the seconds and trying to rewind back before the 50th second. 

“Wait,” Seungkwan pushes Vernon’s hand away with a small frown. He recognized something in the email title. “Bring that up again, give it to me.” 

Vernon pulls his mouth down in a ‘ _uh, sure, ok_ ’ and hands his phone to Seungkwan. He peers over his shoulder as Seungkwan swipes the notifications down and hovers a finger uncertainty over the email. 

It’s as if Seungkwan is afraid to open it. Vernon squints at it. He doesn’t understand. 

“Cursed… prince… exposed…” Vernon reads slowly, making a puzzled face before turning to Seungkwan, “Who’s the cursed prince?” 

But Seungkwan’s face has fallen into a strangeness that Vernon cannot place. It’s weirdly unsettling but Vernon isn’t sure why. He watches as Seungkwan finally clicks on the notification and pulls his eyes back curiously to his phone. It takes a few seconds for the content to load and Seungkwan doesn’t breathe.

When the image finally loads, Seungkwan just stares at the image. He blinks once, twice but it doesn’t change. It must be real and yet it doesn’t seem real. 

“What the fuck?” Vernon jerks his head back in shock, eyes wide and focused on the picture attached in the email. “That’s… That’s…”

“Jeonghan-hyung,” Seungkwan voice comes out as a whisper. 

 

* * *

 

The sun begins setting, steaks of pink bleeding into searing orange. Under the warm but quickly fading glow, Seungcheol presses a kiss to the side of Jeonghan’s temple. They stand in a lingering embrace, unmoving, savouring each other’s touch. The growing shadows envelop the pair slowly but surely and Seungcheol thinks it may rain. He looks down at where he’s got Jeonghan in his arms. The blonde’s hands ghost his sides but not once does he lean out of Seungcheol’s touch.  

He takes in a deep breath against the crown of Jeonghan’s head. Seungcheol’s heart is full of relief and the feel of Jeonghan in his arms is like a diving into a pool on a hot summers day. He isn’t sure he’s going to let go anytime soon. 

Just as he thinks that thought, his phone begins ringing in his pocket. 

Seungcheol reaches for the device and stares at the caller for less than a second before picking up. Jeonghan twists slowly out of Seungcheol’s arms, eyeing him with quiet curiosity. Seungcheol is reluctant to let him go, fingers catching Jeonghan’s as he pulls away.

“Is Jeonghan with you?” Joshua’s voice is levelled but sparks a rush of dread through Seungcheol’s entire body and he responds quickly, “Yes.”  

He locks eyes with Jeonghan and subconsciously tightens his grip on his hand, as if he’s afraid he will lose him again. Jeonghan shoots him a questioning gaze and Seungcheol forces a smile on his face in an effort to comfort.

“Ok, listen to me,” Joshua’s voice is cracking over the line. Seungcheol’s smile falters at the anxious edge to Joshua’s voice. He presses the phone closer to his ear to concentrate. Joshua seems to be on the move, it is noisy on his side. Seungcheol can feel himself beginning to panic but he pushes the feeling down, choosing to concentrate on what Joshua is saying.

“You need to – get – him out – of t-“ 

“What?” Seungcheol rasps, eyes darting around the blonde’s face that exact moment Jeonghan’s phone _pings_. Seungcheol can feel his own phone vibrate in his hands too but he only presses the device harder onto his ear.

Jeonghan tugs his hand away from Seungcheol with a pacifying smile, signalling with his eyes to his back pocket as if to say, ‘ _give me my hand so I can get my phone_.’ Seungcheol lets go, although unwilling and watches as the blonde feels his pocket to pull out the phone.

In his ear, there is static and bits of Joshua’s voice mixing into an incoherent buzz. Seungcheol frowns on instinct and watches as Jeonghan unlocks his phone with practiced ease.

“Get him out of there,” Joshua’s voice comes suddenly too loud and too clear. 

It rings like a bell in Seungcheol’s ear. It echoes over and over like wind through a tunnel. Adrenaline pumps through his blood and he is overtaken by frighteningly powerful grip of fear.

Seungcheol inhales sharply through his nose and snaps his head to Jeonghan. It is just in time to watch the light in Jeonghan’s eyes, already dim, completely fizzle out. The blonde stands deathly still, the hand holding his phone lifted slightly to his face and eyes staring blankly at the screen. 

“Wha-“, Seungcheol begins, moving forward protectively. His own phone is clutched in his hand but the call with Joshua is abandoned. 

Seungcheol watches Jeonghan with panic rising. He has half a mind to fling Jeonghan’s phone somewhere he can never look at it ever again. He is starting to realize how much _bullshit_ Jeonghan has seen and how much he’s watched Jeonghan, watch this. 

This is one of those times, isn’t it? 

Seungcheol’s mind flashes to every single time Jeonghan’s face has fallen when he looks at his phone and he loathes every single time he didn’t ask why. He reaches for Jeonghan’s phone and grabs the device out of his hand, eyes darting to the screen in anger and then he stills.  

He feels a cold, sickly sensation run down his spine. 

_It’s Jeonghan._

Seungcheol’s eyes widen in horror at the picture. His hand that holds the device trembles slightly and he’s not sure if it’s because he’s angry or because he’s shaken. His brain is screaming _bullshit_. He forcefully blinks at the image and a disgusting taste forms in his mouth. 

It is a picture of Jeonghan. It’s slightly blurry but there is no mistaking the striking blonde hair, the sharp cut of his cheekbone and – that coy smile that Seungcheol himself has been at the mercy of. 

But he’s completely exposed and straddling someone Seungcheol cannot see. The realization chokes him like an iron grip.

Seungcheol stands frozen, Jeonghan’s phone clutched in his hand, staring at the photo. He wants to swallow but his throat feels closed up. _What the fuck is this? Who’s that? Who took this? When was this? Where was this? Why? Who sent this? Why do they have it?_

Next to him, in his peripheral vision, he sees Jeonghan take a small step forward and bend slightly at the waist. 

And then the blonde lurches forward with a jerk and vomits.

Seungcheol snaps out of his daze. The noise from fear and anxiety that was brewing in his head is silenced the moment the sick slaps onto the concrete floor. There is nothing much to it, just liquid and some lumpy bits. 

Jeonghan blinks at the sick, face indifferent and unmoving for a few elongated seconds. It is as if he is trying to process the situation. Then, he stands back up and slowly wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.  

That is what jolts Seungcheol back to reality. Jeonghan’s indifference is a loud, screaming alarm that powers his body forward. Seungcheol knows that extreme stress or anxiety makes people feel nauseous but he’s never seen someone actually throw up. It frightens him almost as much as Jeonghan’s complete indifference. 

“Jeonghan,” Seungcheol takes a step forward, arms out and hovering. His heart is beating a million beats per second. Jeonghan is staring at the mess on the floor with a dazed look, lips wet from saliva. Every second that drags past that Jeonghan remains quiet and unmoving only serves to heighten Seungcheol’s senses. 

_Get him out of there._

“Jeonghan,” he says voice low. Jeonghan flinches slightly. It is so slight that Seungcheol thinks if he wasn’t only focused on him, he would have missed it. Seungcheol feels his heart break. Is Jeonghan afraid of him? 

There is a foreign ache in Seungcheol’s chest that he cannot shake and it’s mingling with the overwhelming need to protect. He’s not angry with Jeonghan, he wants to say. The way Jeonghan eyes him as if waiting for him to walk away is sickening. I’m not going anywhere, he wants to say. But the words don’t come out. 

“Ah, they found it.” Jeonghan smiles humourlessly at something Seungcheol doesn’t grasp. _Who???_ Seungcheol’s stunned silence makes Jeonghan sigh tiredly. He cards a hand through his hair before looking back down to the floor at his sick, thinking.

“Okay,” Jeonghan says after a tense beat. He straightens his back and squares his shoulders. He looks directly at Seungcheol and smiles. “I’ll see you around Seungcheol.” 

Then he turns on his heel to walk away. 

Seungcheol jerks forward and grabs Jeonghan’s wrist in panic. The motion swings the blonde back and he snaps his head to Seungcheol in surprise. 

“I’m not losing you again,” Seungcheol says fiercely, wild with conviction. 

Jeonghan’s eyes widen just a fraction. The flash of surprise disappears as quickly as it appears. 

“Did you not see that picture?” Jeonghan almost laughs, disbelieving. He looks at Seungcheol like he’s a fool. Maybe he is.

“We can talk about it later,” Seungcheol decides. _Fuck that picture_ , he thinks. Jeonghan opens his mouth and Seungcheol interrupts it quickly, “or, we don’t have to. I don’t care. Let’s just get out of here.” 

Jeonghan stands unmoving where he stands with an unreadable expression on his face. Seungcheol can see the hesitation in his eyes but decides to curb it once and for all. He reaches for Jeonghan’s hand and laces his fingers with his. Then he pulls the both of them out of the dance building and texts Joshua on the way. 

**Seungcheol** **(8:01pm)**

_I’m taking him back to mine._

 

* * *

 

Mingyu is dropping more of his things than he is picking them up. He makes a frustrated noise and reaches for his house keys. Minghao is already out the door and Mingyu fumbles with locking up his flat before dashing after his best friend. 

The picture sent Minghao into a frenzy, mumbling a string of Chinese to himself that Mingyu cannot understand. All Mingyu understood from that was that it was bad. It wasn’t just Minghao that received the mail, much to Mingyu’s horror. He didn’t know what to do when his own phone vibrated with incoming mail, only to put Yoon Jeonghan on display again. He nearly dropped his phone seeing it a second time, the first when he looked over Minghao’s shoulder.

“Eight!” Mingyu pants as he runs after Minghao. His best friend is racing home and he runs with a speed that is most likely powered by fear and adrenaline. Mingyu, who follows behind, doesn’t understand the full picture but he keeps up just fine, worry fuelling him.  

The distance from Mingyu’s flat to Minghao’s isn’t a long one but they still reach in record time. Mingyu is completely out of breath, breathing through his mouth in struggling pants as Minghao twists his flat door open.  

“Jun!” Minghao shouts, voice laced with panic. 

There’s a clamber of limbs and sounds and then Jun is standing in the living room before them, pale faced. Minghao walks up to his boyfriend in three quick steps, sliding a hand around his waist. When he leans in to whisper something, it is too quiet for Mingyu to hear. Mingyu fidgets nervously by the door, unsure if he should breach the entrance. Mingyu watches as his best friend whispers quiet comfort to Jun and lowers his head. He is itching to know more but he wills himself quiet. 

“He’s at Choi Seungcheol’s house,” Jun says suddenly, loud enough for Mingyu to hear too. Minghao’s eyes widen and he turns to look at Mingyu. It is a mix of apprehension and expectation.

“But I don’t know his address,” Jun continues, voice moving towards a distressed whine.  

“I do,” Mingyu says quickly. His heart is thumping in his chest, he’s scared too. The picture makes him think of every single rumour he’s heard and it makes him think they’re _true_. He thinks about Seungcheol and is hit with suffocating blanket of worry. His mind drifts instinctively to Wonwoo and thinks about how all he wants is to be near him like how Minghao wanted to be with Jun. 

Mingyu shakes his head furiously and rings a cab. 

 

* * *

 

“What the fuck is that?” Jihoon spits at his phone, eyes wide at the picture attached in the email he’s gotten. _Holy motherfucking shit._ Soonyoung stares at it dumbfounded, mouth dropping open. He scrambles for his own phone and stares in horror at the same picture he’s been sent. 

“Why do you have it?” Jihoon asks shocked at the same image appearing on Soonyoung’s phone, “you’re a dance maj-“ His sentence trails off and his eyes glaze over with realisation. 

“ **Fuck** ,” he bites bitterly, “it’s been sent to the whole university.” He raises a hand to press his palm at his forehead, eyes squeezing shut.

Soonyoung’s eyes widen so large that on a better day, Jihoon would have found it funny. 

“Chan,” Soonyoung whispers suddenly, before saying louder and worriedly, “we need to go back and get him.” 

Jihoon looks at him like he’s being absurd. _We need to go to Seungcheol_ , he wants to say but Soonyoung is already three steps ahead of him running down the corridor and heading to where they’d left Chan with Jeonghan. 

He mutters a frustrated curse, hesitating only for a second before he presses his lips together and runs after Soonyoung. Mid-run, Jihoon pulls up his phone and calls Seungcheol. 

“Hoon,” the familiar voice in his ear anchors him. Seungcheol sounds OK and that’s all Jihoon needs to know. 

“What’s going on?” Jihoon rasps as he races after his boyfriend’s quickly disappearing person. “They’ve sent it to the whole fucking university.”

“I’m not sure yet. Can you meet me at mine?” Seungcheol asks lowly. He seems to realise Jihoon is running so he asks, “Where are you?” 

“I’m with Soonyoung, he’s going to get Chan.” Jihoon takes a deep shaky breath. 

“Who’s tha-“ 

“Jeonghan’s baby brother. He lives with Soonyoung, I didn’t know they were related. I’ll see you in a bit.” Jihoon interrupts him quickly. When Seungcheol says OK, Jihoon cuts the line. 

 

* * *

 

 

Soonyoung nearly topples over from the speed he’s running so he grabs on the dance studio door to hold himself up. He pushes the door open in anticipation and stops. Eyes softening immediately, he swallows. 

“Hey,” he says gently, carefully. 

Chan looks up from where he’s seated on the floor, phone in hand and eyes blown wide. 

“Hyung.” Chan breathes in acknowledgement before dragging his eyes back to his phone.

“Don’t look at it.” Soonyoung says quickly, moving forward to take Chan’s phone from him. A part of him wishes he’d have been quicker, maybe if he had only been a few minutes quicker, Chan wouldn’t have had to see it. 

Soonyoung knows of Chan’s older brother. He’s always spoke of him fondly. Chan was either complaining about him or gushing about him, there was rarely an in-between. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know how much Chan loved and admired him. Chan has never mentioned his name, and Soonyoung supposes, there was never ever a need to. Soonyoung’s heart sinks at the thought of Chan seeing the brother he cherished so much like _this_.

“That’s…” Chan slants his head at Soonyoung, “That’s my b-”

Jihoon stumbles into the dance studio then, cheeks slightly pink from running. Soonyoung and Chan turn to look at him. Jihoon takes one look at Chan and knows the boy knows absolutely nothing. Jihoon frowns hard and tilts his head in a silent apology. He can see Soonyoung’s heart already breaking. 

Jihoon swears under his breath. 

Yoon Jeonghan was one secretive fucker. 

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol glances between the road and Jeonghan, one hand on the steering wheel as he turns into his neighbourhood. They’re just about five minutes away and he’s not sure if this will help but Jeonghan has been mindlessly fidgeting at his hands so Seungcheol reaches over to him. He takes one of Jeonghan’s hands and holds it with a firm grip. 

Jeonghan stills and it takes him a long minute before he curls his fingers around Seungcheol’s. 

 

* * *

 

 

Seokmin’s phone had buzzed in the middle of his hour-long study session he booked in the library. The strangest, chilling thing happened immediately after. Everyone in his immediate vicinity with a phone, had their devices _pinging_ and _dinging_. The weirdness of it all sent a tickling sensation down his spine as he glanced around the library with a curious look on his face.

When the library, initially quiet and peaceful, busts into whispers and murmuring, Seokmin reaches for his phone with a frown on his face. It’s probably some dumb prank. Pledis gets those often. He blinks at the notification and the familiar title makes him click it immediately. 

Then his eyes widen and his brows furrow in horror. He stands abruptly, eyes still trained on the picture. His chair clanks noisily where it falls and then people are staring at him. Seokmin swallows uncomfortably from the sudden attention and fumbles to put his phone away. He opens his bag and swipes his belongings into it with a sweeping motion. It is messy and a pen or two drops to the ground but he just clutches his bag to his chest and bolts out of the library. 

“Boo Seungkwan,” he says hurriedly the moment the younger boy picks up. 

“I saw,” an equally distressed voice crackles over the line. 

“What is it?” Seokmin asks frantically. He’s standing outside the library, bag unzipped and clutched in his hands. A notebook or two hangs precariously out of his bag but he doesn’t notice. 

“I don’t know. I don’t know.” Seungkwan’s stressed voice only magnifies Seokmin’s. “Vernon got the same thing and he’s not even in art school.”

“What??” Seokmin holds his forehead, bag awkwardly shoved under his armpit.

“I think- I think someone sent this to _everyone,_ ” Seungkwan sounds horrified.

“This is blackmail.” Seokmin’s voice hardens so suddenly Seungkwan goes quiet on the line. 

“It’s linked to his rumours, isn’t it?” Seungkwan asks in a small voice.  

“Maybe- yes- I don’t know.” Seokmin shakes his head, mumbling. 

“…I thought they were just- just rumours,” Seungkwan mumbles back. 

“They are,” Seokmin insists. 

When Seungkwan remains quiet, Seokmin repeats a little less sure, “they are _._ ” 

 

* * *

 

When Joshua knocks on Seungcheol’s door, Seungcheol it immediately and stands aside, expecting the guy to burst through his front door in a panicked frenzy. 

He doesn’t. 

Instead, Joshua stands under Seungcheol’s door frame and stares past him to Jeonghan sitting on the couch. Seungcheol watches the boy close his eyes for a second, exhaling softly like he is relieved to see the blonde. Then Joshua moves forward slowly. He closes the distance between Jeonghan and himself, crouching on the floor so he’s the same eye level as Jeonghan. Joshua places a hand on Jeonghan’s knee and he says something so quiet, Seungcheol cannot hear it.

When Jeonghan looks up to see Joshua, he leans forward immediately to wrap his arms around him. Joshua runs a comforting hand down Jeonghan’s back and presses his cheek onto the blonde’s head. Jeonghan doesn’t say anything but Joshua can feel him shaking slightly in the iron grip of an embrace he’s got Joshua in. 

Seungcheol holds his breath. He’s not entirely sure what this is but he knows it holds an intimate sort of understanding that he does not yet have. So, he stands where he is and allows the best friends space. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t with you,” Joshua whispers. Jeonghan shakes his head in a motion of blonde and blur. Joshua makes an apologetic face and Jeonghan dismisses it quickly with a chiding glare. 

“Okay.” Joshua gives. He can hear the unsaid ‘ _enough_ ’ Jeonghan means. Jeonghan unwraps his hands from Joshua and Joshua stands. 

“Thank you for not leaving him,” Joshua turns to look at Seungcheol now, expression thankful but careful. Seungcheol doesn’t say anything back. He’s not exactly what to say. _You’re welcome? I wouldn’t ever leave him?_

“I’m sorry,” Joshua continues, eyes dropping to the floor briefly before looking back up at Seungcheol again, “that you got dragged int-”Joshua pauses, choosing his words and finishing, “we miscalculated.”

Seungcheol looks at both of the boys in his living room and feels a spark of hurt. He clenches his jaw. _Miscalculated? Miscalculated what? Me?_

Joshua picks up on it immediately and his lips curve into a sad smile. 

“I don’t mean to offend.” He says softly, “but _I_ should have seen this coming. It’ll be better for us to get out of your hair. This has the potential to get really ugly.” There’s a wary sort of edge to the way he speaks.

“Okay,” Seungcheol accepts and then asks, “do I get a choice in the matter?”

Seungcheol flickers his eyes to Jeonghan and finds the blonde already looking at him. He’s got a practiced blank expression on and Seungcheol’s heart sinks a little. When Jihoon told him that Jeonghan liked to play games, Seungcheol doesn’t think the younger guy knew that they weren’t really games. They are walls and Seungcheol’s been trying to slowly chip away at the bricks. The time that Seungcheol had spent with Jeonghan was a constant push and pull. Seungcheol’s always respected Jeonghan’s boundaries and has even been surprised when he, on occasion, was within the lines of those boundaries - only to be forced back out again. It was a frustrating thing but Seungcheol cannot find it in himself to walk away. Not when he knows Jeonghan is hot when he’s cold and hard when he’s soft. Not when he’s in love with him. 

The room fills with a delicate tension.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Seungcheol clarifies. The suffering look Joshua’s face softens into isn’t lost on him but he stands his ground.

“Seungcheol, it’s really not-”

“I’ll tell him.” Jeonghan interrupts them. His voice is steady, clear, resolved.  

Seungcheol turns to look at Jeonghan and locks eyes with him. All of a sudden, the only thing Seungcheol wants to do is hold him. The rush of relief and thankfulness threatens to out pour in a wave of affection but Seungcheol knows better.  

Bent over, with his elbows resting on his knees, Jeonghan looks resolved.

Joshua tilts his head slightly. A silent question – _are you sure?_ \-  and Jeonghan says, “It’s okay.” 

“Okay.” Joshua replies. He is relieved. A part of him has wanted to tell Seungcheol everything from the get-go. Perhaps they could have been better prepared for this. But, Joshua always held his tongue when he thought of Jeonghan. He played by Jeonghan’s rules when it came to this. It is not out of weakness, but out of love and respect.  

Jeonghan stands and Seungcheol stiffens in anticipation.  

“I’ll wait here,” Joshua tells Seungcheol and jerks his head in the direction that Jeonghan has begun walking in. Seungcheol nods once, sharply and follows the blonde. 

 

* * *

 

With the two out of sight, Joshua sits on the couch and allows himself a tired sigh. His chest feels heavy with dread and he pulls out his phone to scroll through the new thousands of posts about the remerged picture. Joshua never thought he’d ever have to look at that picture ever again when he deleted it from his phone and every other device he could get his hands on. 

He covers his face with a hand and frowns so hard his head hurts. He thought they had buried this so no one would ever bring it up ever again. Joshua could just about barely handle the snide rumours that had burst forth when this picture was first unleashed. Every time someone mentioned the rumour or shouted nasty things at Jeonghan in the hallway, Joshua always felt like he was sick. But time was the steadfast and faithful healer of things. The worst of it died away when the years dragged on. By the time most people had graduated and only he and Jeonghan were left, Joshua felt like he could breathe again. Whatever that was left was just heresy and nothing could really hurt them anymore.

Until now.

Joshua laughs a disbelieving, broken sound but it is quickly put away when the doorbell rings. He straightens his back and stands quietly, moving to the door. Hand grabbing the doorknob, he twists it and smiles, mildly amused at how natural opening Seungcheol’s front door feels. His eyes land on Jun and his face contorts in affliction at the dancer’s panic-stricken expression. 

“Hyung,” Despite the serious expression he wears, the look in Jun’s eyes give away how distressed he is. He doesn’t say anything else and Joshua knows. The both of them had tried to bury this together after all. 

Behind him, Joshua sees Minghao and they exchange mutual nods of understanding. Then, Joshua fixes his eyes on Mingyu. It takes a few seconds before his eyes narrow in recognition and his icy stare arrests Mingyu where he is. The taller boy visibly shrinks back.

“He’s on the baseball team.” Joshua says as a matter-of-fact, like as if that explains something. There’s a small but threatening smile curving on his lips. Mingyu swallows some saliva as a bolt of fear shoots up his spine. He’s never met this guy before but he is already wary. Sandwiched in-between them, Jun is silent. He moves aside to allow his boyfriend to step forward and Minghao moves in front of Mingyu like a metaphorical shield. Before Joshua can say anything else, the dancer says, “he’s my best friend.”

Joshua drags his gaze to Minghao and stares at him for a few calculating seconds. Minghao knows he’s only being cautious so he doesn’t stand down, squaring his gaze back at the older boy in quiet understanding. Mingyu holds his breath. His mind is trying to come up with a million and one things he can tell this guy to help his case. Like, _hey I know Seungcheol_. _Seungcheol is my friend. I’ve been to this house more times than anyone in Pledis save for Jihoon_. None of them seem like they’d be very helpful. 

The four of them stand unmoving and tense until Joshua lets out a loud exhale, breaking the stiffness in the air. He smiles - it is an olive branch. Mingyu exhales with visible relief.

“They’re upstairs.” Joshua tells them, turning back into the house. 

And then he says softer so that only Jun hears, “He’s going to tell him.” 

Jun turns to Joshua, stunned. 

And then he settles his face into neutrality and nods.

 

* * *

 

 

“This is ridiculous.” Jihoon mutters to himself. He’s riding shotgun in the cab he called to Seungcheol’s place. Soonyoung and Chan are seated behind in silence. 

Jihoon scrolls through a few blogs on his phone with a scowl on his face. 

“Nobody knew about this before,” he continues despite the sullen silence from the two behind and the awkward silence from the taxi driver. “Literally-“ he eyes a few comments, “nobody knew about this. Now they’re eating it up like-“ he clicks his tongue. 

“We better get some fucking ans-“ Jihoon catches himself. Then he gasps and pulls up someone number. When the line starts ringing, he chants under his breath _: pick up, pick up, pick up_.  

“Who are you calling?” Soonyoung leans forward to poke his head into Jihoon space, with a worried but curious dip in his brows.

“I know somebody that can track this.” Jihoon spares Soonyoung a glance before turning back to the front. 

“They can find who posted it?” Soonyoung asks, surprised. Jihoon presses his phone to his ear and nods quickly. 

“Wh-“ 

The line gets picked up with a distinctive click. 

“Seok,” Jihoon breathes, “I need a favour.” 

 

* * *

 

“Can you track a photo for me?” Jihoon asks Seokmin. Seokmin rubs his temples slowly, frowning and pressing the phone close to his ear. Someone is speaking to Jihoon and they sound deceptively like Soonyoung. 

Seokmin is at home hunched over his laptop. The picture that had shaken the university just over an hour ago, pulled up on his screen and haunting every passing minute. 

“Hyung-“ Seokmin inhales slowly, “this doesn’t have to do with the mass email that-“ 

“That’s the photo.” Jihoon cuts him off, “can you track that?” 

“Yes.” Seokmin replies. There is a pause, a beat, and then Jihoon says with surprise, “you’re already tracking it.” 

When Seokmin doesn’t say anything, Jihoon says, “I didn’t know you knew Yoon Jeonghan.” 

“He’s a senior I really treasure.” Seokmin explains quietly, fingers moving fast across his keyboard. 

 

* * *

 

Wonwoo is already half-sprinting to Seungcheol’s house when Mingyu texts him informing him that that’s where everyone is going. 

All things considered, Wonwoo is generally quite a calm person. He likes the occasional teasing game and actually really enjoys bantering but most days he liked it quiet. It was everything but quiet right now. That mass-sent picture may as well have just blown up the University. People who didn’t even know about Jeonghan (which is already rare), now know him on an extremely intimate level. Wonwoo finds the entirety of the situation disgusting. Surely people had better things to do than to try and ruin someone else’s life. 

He doesn’t even bother knocking when he reaches Seungcheol’s house. Wonwoo just pushes his way in and almost immediately stops. The house is filled with a suffocating tension that makes him break a sweat. Taking a quick glance around - he sees Minghao, two other people he doesn’t recognise and Mingyu. 

His boyfriend is hunched over with his elbows on his knees and he’s worrying his bottom lip at an intensity Wonwoo winces over. The four of them looks up at his unannounced entrance. Minghao lifts a hand in greeting and Wonwoo offers a smile, dipping his head in greeting before moving to Mingyu. 

Wonwoo slides a hand around Mingyu’s neck and presses a soft kiss to the top of his head – a comfort offering. Mingyu takes it, leaning into his touch and releasing some tension in his shoulders.

“Seungcheol hyung is upstairs with him,” Mingyu mutters to Wonwoo. 

_Ah_ , Wonwoo thinks. _That is what everyone is waiting for._ He nods and sits next to Mingyu. Then he looks at the other three. 

“I’m Wonwoo.” He introduces himself politely. Then he crinkles his nose and jokes, “Team Seungcheol.” 

Across from him, the handsome boy with the big expressive eyes snorts. Beside him, Mingyu sniffles a guilty laugh. It’s good enough for Wonwoo. 

“Jun.” The boy who snorted, nods at him and says, “Team Jeonghan.”  

They laugh at each other. Minghao relaxes slightly and Mingyu covers his mouth, hiding his canine grin. Even the beautiful boy sat next to Jun who hasn’t said a word, breaks into a small smile. 

 

* * *

 

Jeonghan stands with his back against Seungcheol’s bedroom door. His hands are behind him, lingering in the door knob. It provides him a little comfort, giving him something to hold. Seungcheol stands a few steps away from him with a look of concern on his face. They stand motionless for a few seconds and Jeonghan quietly prepares himself. When he’s ready, he looks up at Seungcheol to find the boy already looking at him.

“It was in our first year,” Jeonghan lifts his shoulders in a half-shrug as he breaks the silence. It isn’t stifling like what he thought it’ll be but it isn’t exactly the most comfortable situation either. It’s kind of lukewarm. Seungcheol levels his gaze with Jeonghan’s and Jeonghan forces himself to keep eye contact. It is hard, but he does it. 

“I was friends with the guys in the baseball team then,” Jeonghan continues carefully. He’s got a smile on his face that makes Seungcheol very uncomfortable. “They were a bunch of wild kids.” Jeonghan laughs and Seungcheol doesn’t.  

“The picture... well, it happened at a party. One of those big ones you baseball boys love so much,” Jeonghan’s chuckle dies off into a sombre expression. “I was drunk and off my face.” The blonde shrugs. 

“Someone took a picture when they shouldn’t have and then suddenly I was everyone property.” Jeonghan says with a vague expression that Seungcheol cannot read. 

“Property?” Seungcheol interrupts, his voice rough. Jeonghan makes a _mmmm_ noise at the back of his throat with a small nod. 

“Everyone thought I was down for whatever, since you know – nude picture and everything. People started trying to get in my pants.” Jeonghan purses his lips and shrugs again.

Seungcheol squares his jaw and scowls. There’s a bad taste in his mouth and his mind flickers back to when he threw that back to uni party. 

“Did someone touch you at my party?” He asks suddenly, angry but still in control. Jeonghan eyes him carefully. When he doesn’t answer, Seungcheol exhales with so much force Jeonghan breaks their eye contact and lowers his eyes. 

“How did you end up in my pool?” Seungcheol questions, straightening his back. The look Jeonghan shoots him is an attempt to placate the baseball captain. _It’s not important_ , he means silently.  

“Tell me,” Seungcheol insists with a dangerous look in his eyes but Jeonghan isn’t afraid. He knows it isn’t for him. He turns his head away from Seungcheol and says quietly, “I shoved at him when he touched me.”  

“He touched you,” Seungcheol repeats. Jeonghan can see the flare in Seungcheol’s eyes and he winces slightly.

“Yes,” Jeonghan says after a beat.

Seungcheol bristles and looks away from Jeonghan for the first time since they stepped into his bedroom. Jeonghan presses his lips together, a misplaced sense of guilt rising from his gut. He’s been trying to avoid talking about the incident at the party for ages and now that it was happening, Jeonghan feels incredibly unsettled.

“It’s fine,” he dismisses quickly. Seungcheol clenches his fist and turns to Jeonghan.

“I wish you had told me,” he says lowly.

“You already kicked him out,” Jeonghan reasons, “it doesn’t matter." 

“It does matter.” Seungcheol bites with an intensity that makes Jeonghan clamp his mouth shut. It feels weirdly like he’s a child being reprimanded. It makes him feel strange.  

“You matter.” Seungcheol amends with frustration, “and I should have done more than kick him out.”

Jeonghan makes a pained face and Seungcheol shoots him a reprimanding glare.

“I don’t need to kick up a fuss.” The blonde says quietly, stubbornly.

Seungcheol feels every fibre of his being disagree but he reigns his opinion in at the sight of Jeonghan visibly closing up.

“Okay,” he gives. “What’s this about the curse?”

Jeonghan snorts a tiny laugh before sighing and saying, “someone got expelled.”

“Someone?” Seungcheol raises his brows.

“Yes.” Jeonghan replies, eyes dropping down to the carpet. He pulls a smile onto his face but it looks more like a cringe. Seungcheol waits where he is without saying a word and it take Jeonghan a few minutes before the silence seems to force an explanation from him.  

“Someone,” Jeonghan clears his throat uncomfortably, “I- He-”

“Okay.” Seungcheol says gently. Jeonghan flits his gaze up to him and is a little taken aback by the blatant tenderness on Seungcheol’s face. It makes his eyes sting and it scares him. 

“You don’t have to tell me.” Seungcheol shakes his head slowly, “I never want to make you do anything you don’t want to.”

“I want to.” Jeonghan blurts before his brain can tell him otherwise.

“Okay,” Seungcheol agrees.

“The- the rumours and, especially that picture… made people really uh, excited I guess… There was this senior on the baseball team that got a little - too excited..” Jeonghan exhales the words in a quick breath like he wants to rid himself of them as quickly as possible, “He cornered me in one of the- um- studios and he-”

Seungcheol feels his heart sink all the way down to his gut and twist in a merciless wring. He closes his eyes, an aching throb in his chest growing by the second.

“Um,” Jeonghan continues to power through even though he’s struggling. 

“Okay,” Seungcheol cuts him off. He’s heard enough. He feels like throwing up. Jeonghan pushes a tiny smile onto his face and offers, “Shua got him expelled.”

“A man after my own heart,” Seungcheol smiles back despite the nasty taste on his tongue. Jeonghan nods in agreement. His affection for Joshua peeking through his smile.

“What about the picture now?” Seungcheol asks carefully, “why is someone dragging this out again?”

Jeonghan fidgets where he is. He kicks his heels onto the floor and chews at his bottom lip.

“Is it because of me?” Seungcheol lowers his voice, worried and guilty. Jeonghan crinkles his brows and tilts his head but he doesn’t say no. The baseball captain runs a hand down his face in dismay.

“It’s not your fault.” Jeonghan says quickly, carefully, “it’s just… no one thought this” he waves an awkward hand between the both of them, “would happen.”

“What do you mean?” Seungcheol furrows his brow before looking away bashfully, “I’ve liked you since I met you.”

An embarrassed flush kisses Jeonghan’s cheeks and the blonde blinks at Seungcheol in surprise. Seungcheol rubs the back of his neck and clears his throat awkwardly.

“I didn’t,” Jeonghan _also_ clears his throat and sniffs. The surprised laugh that bubbles out of Seungcheol’s chest makes fighting back a smile difficult for Jeonghan. Seungcheol’s face is pulled into a grin now, the side of his cheeks dimpling in the way that melts Jeonghan’s heart. It is unfair and would probably considered foul play if this was a game.

“And now?” Seungcheol asks bravely, taking a step forward. 

“You’re alright,” Jeonghan shrugs nonchalantly and Seungcheol erupts into a chuckle. It makes Jeonghan bite his lip and eye him, embarrassed. Seungcheol closes the distance between them in two long strides and Jeonghan’s heart begins pounding. It betrays the indifferent attitude he’s trying to adopt.

With Seungcheol just inches away from him, Jeonghan flushes a bright red.

“Please let me kiss you,” Seungcheol’s voice is low and velvety. There’s a sort of amusement in Seungcheol’s eyes when Jeonghan darts his eyes up to his face but it is encased in affection. He doesn’t reply and when Seungcheol puts a hand on the side of his face, Jeonghan holds his breath. Seungcheol presses a soft kiss to the side of his lips, Jeonghan’s breath hitches. It is so tender that Jeonghan feels his eyes sting again. He stubbornly blinks the feeling away, pushing them down and out of his mind.

“Okay,” Seungcheol whispers against Jeonghan’s cheek, “we can handle this. I don’t care about what people think.”

“So you’ve mentioned,” Jeonghan huffs and Seungcheol grins.

“If it’s just a picture and people who hate happiness, we can handle that.” Seungcheol shrugs easily, caressing the side of Jeonghan’s face with a loving smile. Jeonghan blushes under his gaze and shrugs, mumbling, “OK”.

Seungcheol presses another kiss near Jeonghan’s temple and the blonde laughs nervously, “I’m not exactly – _keen_ on going back to university tomorrow.” Seungcheol furrows his brow and says simply, “then don’t.”

“I have to.” Jeonghan says, “If I don’t show up, I lose.”

Seungcheol pulls his head back to look at the blonde, brow still furrowed but now, it is in disagreement.

“What exactly are you losing?” He asks, raising a brow.

“I don’t know,” Jeonghan shrugs, “if I don’t show up, they win.”

“Who’s they?” Seungcheol blinks in question.

“Just-” Jeonghan says exasperatedly as he waves a hand, “I just lose.”

Seungcheol takes Jeonghan’s face in both his hands and jerks the blonde gently, bringing their faces together.

“Doing something that makes you uncomfortable, _isn’t_ winning.”

Jeonghan purses his lips in quiet defiance and Seungcheol sighs, pressing their foreheads together.

“Protecting yourself is the _biggest_ win you can have, angel.”

The pet name makes Jeonghan squirm in Seungcheol’s embrace but he doesn’t struggle free. Instead, he exhales through his nostrils and glares at Seungcheol.

 

* * *

 

The look on Joshua’s face when he sees Chan, doesn’t make Chan feel very secure. He glances between Joshua and all the _many_ other unfamiliar faces and stands stiffly at the doorway. From behind him, Soonyoung gently nudges him, trying to push him into the house.

“Um,” Chan says, tilting his head to the side in apprehension.

“Channie!” Jun bolts up from where he was sat on the sofa, eyes wide. Then the dancer turns to look at Joshua who has his eyes locked on Chan in the visual equivalent of _oh shit._

Jihoon pushes past Chan, not unkindly but impatient nonetheless.

“Where’s Seungcheol?” The music major asks. His question, thrown out to everyone in the room.

“He’s upstairs with Jeonghan.” Joshua says and Jihoon looks at him for a moment before nodding.

“Who- who are all of you?” Chan asks uncertainly.

“Who are _you?”_ Mingyu counters, eyebrows raising in question. Next to him, Wonwoo shoots his boyfriend a look.

“He’s Jeonghan’s younger brother.” Joshua silences Mingyu as he stands. This evening is proving to be a little _too_ exciting for Joshua’s usual night time routine. He doesn’t think Jeonghan will be very happy with Chan being here, especially not when Jeonghan has painstakingly tried to shield Chan from his past. It was relatively easy, since Chan only enrolled into Pledis after the incident had turned lukewarm.

Now that it is basically wildfire blazing through the student population, Joshua doesn’t think this time is going to be as simple.

“Chan, I-” Joshua stops immediately when he hears footsteps coming down the stairs. He isn’t the only one. All eight of them turn to look when Seungcheol and Jeonghan emerge from upstairs.

The pair pause at all eight pair of eyes trained on them with stunned expressions. The blonde opens his mouth to crack a joke but his face falls when he spots Chan.  

“Chan,” Jeonghan breathes, taking a tentative step forward.

“Hyung,” Chan frowns, “what- why is- I got a picture.” Jeonghan’s face crumples into dread and Seungcheol puts a comforting hand on the small of his back.

“Go talk to him,” Seungcheol says quietly to Jeonghan, pushing him forward gently. Then he looks at the rest and breaks into a large smile. There are some unfamiliar faces but, he decides that nobody would be here unless they cared for either Jeonghan or him a great deal.

“What do you guys want to eat for dinner?” He puts his hands on his hips and asks loudly. From the corner of the room, Jihoon shoots him a dissatisfied look. Seungcheol’s eyebrows slant downwards in a quiet apology and a promise to give answers.

They break up into two groups.

Jeonghan pulls Chan aside, along with Jun and together they exchange soft words. Seungcheol can see Jeonghan struggling a little and silently sends him strength from halfway across the room where he’s got the rest of the boys looking expectantly at him.

“What happened?” Mingyu presses, eyes wide and words quick. Next to him, Wonwoo is less obvious but curious nonetheless.

“Looks like it went well?” Wonwoo offers.

“Did we find out- uh- what it is?” Soonyoung makes an uncomfortable face, raising a hand for emphasis.

“It’s blackmail, Soonyoung,” Jihoon deadpans.

“I _know,_ babe.” Soonyoung shakes his head, “I mean _why?”_

Jihoon gawks at him and Soonyoung blinks back confused at his boyfriend until Wonwoo coughs and Seungcheol slaps Soonyoung on his back. Seungcheol barks a loud and obnoxious laugh that makes Jihoon flush beetroot red. Soonyoung cover his mouth abruptly when Jihoon glares at him.

“O _-kay_ ,” Seungcheol clears his throat dramatically, “let’s order some food and then we can talk about it.”

Mingyu leans into Minghao’s space and whispers, “Seungcheol-hyung is big on dinners.” The dancer nods back agreeably.

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol is in the kitchen with Mingyu removing the plastic wrapping on the multiple bowls of black bean noodles he’s ordered when Jihoon walks in. The curt jerk Jihoon makes with his head has Seungcheol dropping the food back on the table and telling Mingyu to set the table. Mingyu nods and asks Minghao to help. 

Jihoon doesn’t even ask but Seungcheol can hear the questions already. They’re outside in the backyard by the pool when Seungcheol relays what he knows to his best friend. He takes a deep and uncomfortable breath through some parts but makes it through eventually. When he’s finished, Jihoon has a frown on his face.

“I don’t think that’s the whole story, Cheol.” The younger boy says.

“What do you mean?” Seungcheol worries the inside of his cheek. He doesn’t think he can hear any more bad news today.

“Who blasted the picture?” Jihoon asks, suspicion all over his face. 

“He didn’t mention anything.” Seungcheol shakes his head. “I don’t think he knows.”

“You sure about that?” Jihoon raises his brows in question.

Seungcheol doesn’t know what to say so he doesn’t reply.

“Doesn’t matter.” Jihoon shakes his head, “We’ll know soon.”

“How?” Seungcheol widens his eyes.

“Someone is tracking the picture for me.” Jihoon sniffs, “he should call me back anytime soon.”

“Is this the guy you used to rig the digital pudding coupon counts last semester?” A grin, bursts onto Seungcheol’s face.

“Until he felt guilty about getting extra pudding,” Jihoon scoffs.

“A good man.” Seungcheol nods with respect.

“A fool.” Jihoon corrects.

 

* * *

 

Dinner feels strangely like a family gathering.

Jeonghan sits across the table from Seungcheol, wedged in-between Chan and Joshua. Next to Joshua, Jun sits beside Minghao and beside the dancer, Mingyu with Wonwoo. On the other end of the table, Jihoon sits next to Seungcheol and Soonyoung. They settle into weirdly natural dynamic, eating and chattering amongst themselves.

Nobody brings up the picture.

Jeonghan told Chan whatever he needed to and the younger boy took it with a surprising amount maturity. Seungcheol seems to have curbed everyone’s curiosity and nobody looks at Jeonghan weird.

It is oddly, perfect.

Everything feels normal. 

Everything except for the way Joshua glances at him every few minutes. Jeonghan grips his chopsticks and leans over the table to grab some side dishes for Chan. He insists the younger boy eats and goes off on a delicately nagging speech about how he’s growing and he needs food. All the while, avoiding Joshua’s quietly questioning gaze.

 

* * *

 

Dinner was lovely. Seungcheol was introduced to both Jun and Minghao, although he finds Minghao familiar by proxy only because Mingyu talks about him sometimes. It is nice to put a face to the name. It is _also nice_ to see Jihoon interacting with Soonyoung – something Seungcheol feels like should have happened a while back. He also meets Chan, Jeonghan’s younger brother and ends up having an hour-long conversation with the boy. Seungcheol likes him.

When everyone drifts away from the dinner table, Seungcheol stays back to clear the dishes. He is balancing the dirty, empty bowls from dinner in both his hands when he’s distracted by the sound of voices coming from the stairwell. He slows down his steps and glances to where most of the boys are in the living room, instantly realizing who’s missing.

He sets the bowls down on the kitchen counter and frowns. The voices – specifically one voice, although quiet, sounds unhappy.

Inching closer, he wonders if he should be eavesdropping - but his curiosity, mixed with the recent influx of worry, drives him forward.

“-why didn’t you tell him?” Joshua asks. He sounds frustrated – agitated. 

“Let him deal with it, Han. You can’t keep protecting him.”

“I’m not protecting him.” A defiant voice comes.

Seungcheol holds his breath.

“He’s on his _team._ I thought you were going to tell Seungcheol,” Joshua audibly sighs.

“Is that really important?” Jeonghan asks so quietly Seungcheol has to strain his ears. Jeonghan sounds upset. “As long as nothing else happens, it doesn’t matter.”

“Han, we don’t know that,” Joshua says, “What if-”

“Hyung, do you want to-” Mingyu walks up to where Seungcheol is and Seungcheol grabs the younger boy by the arm and drags him to the kitchen. Surprised but willing, Mingyu lets himself be dragged.

“Uh-” The younger boy begins only stopping when notices the tense clench of jaw and hard line to Seungcheol’s lips.

“The guy who posted it is on the team.” Seungcheol bites but he is hurt and it is obvious to Mingyu.

“I know.” Mingyu mutters.

“How?”

“The first few pictures were taken in your house the day Jeonghan hyung came over for dinner.” Mingyu explains, “there was no one else here off the team other than Wonwoo.”

Seungcheol hardens his gaze.

“Are you… are you going to ask them?” Mingyu asks, eyes wary.

“We’ll see.” Seungcheol decides.

 

* * *

 

At night, after their bellies are full and their hearts a little lighter, the boys start leaving Seungcheol’s place. He offers some of the rooms in the house for them to stay in but they insist on going home. The only two left are Jeonghan and Joshua.

“I’ll see you at home,” Joshua pulls Jeonghan into an embrace and the blonde hugs him back. Then Joshua straightens and gives Seungcheol a smile, patting him lightly on the shoulder.

“Thank you.” He says and Seungcheol smiles back despite his thoughts straying to the conversation he overheard. There’s a look in Joshua’s eyes, something that makes Seungcheol feel like he wants to say something more. He doesn’t. He gives them both another smile and then leaves, the door clicking close gently after him.

“Bed?” Seungcheol turns to Jeonghan.

“Bed.” Jeonghan echoes.

 

* * *

 

 

Seungcheol lends Jeonghan one of his favourite t-shirts and some comfy tracks to change into after he’s showered and when they finally settle into bed, under and not above the sheets this time, Seungcheol lets out a sigh of relief.

“Rough day?” Jeonghan blinks up at him from where he’s huddled against Seungcheol’s chest. Seungcheol laughs, carding a hand through his hair before throwing it over Jeonghan’s waist to pull the blonde closer.

“Kind of,” Seungcheol humours Jeonghan, pressing his nose into the top of Jeonghan’s head.

“Can I make it better?” Jeonghan lifts his head to look at him. Seungcheol smiles and presses a kiss to Jeonghan’s forehead.

“It already is better.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more to go.


	7. Chapter 7

Seungcheol doesn’t rest well. 

He lies on his side as he mindlessly cards a hand through Jeonghan’s hair. The blonde had fallen asleep not too long ago. Lulled into a peaceful slumber by the constant, comforting motion of Seungcheol’s hand. A tiny snore escapes Jeonghan’s lips and he smiles.

The sight of Jeonghan asleep and undisturbed, is a partial salve to his restlessness. Shuffling to his side, Seungcheol inches closer to him and allows himself a big sigh. With almost little to no space between them, Seungcheol drops his gaze down to Jeonghan’s face and his heart does a mini somersault. 

The blonde is a serene picture when he sleeps – there is none of that frightened but control expression, not a single practiced smile in sight - a precious sort of peace that Seungcheol finds himself desperate to maintain.  

Jeonghan seemed to relax significantly after telling him about the photo. The subtle tense of his shoulders, even though very expertly kept concealed from experience, has eased. Seungcheol caught him using the after-shower condensation to draw a picture of an angel on the bathroom mirror. He then seemed to nod a self-satisfied smile before scribbling some words under that were lost by the time Seungcheol snuck in to steal a peek. 

Seungcheol supposes it must have given Jeonghan some relief to have finally told him about it. Not that he doubted it or anything, but Jeonghan wasn’t exactly an open book. He danced around topics he wasn’t ready to have and made realistic distractions until, well, topic avoided. On the other hand, Seungcheol isn’t one to play games. He’s honest through and through - that’s just the way he was made. Seungcheol loves fiercely and passionately while Jeonghan, whether intentionally or not, seems to always deny himself the right to love. 

A smarter person would have realised this and avoided it for obvious reasons. But Seungcheol was a fool in love. Curious and innocent, Jeonghan was like an alluring pull that Seungcheol couldn’t walk away from. Equipped with copious amounts of charm and that disarming smile - Seungcheol never stood a chance.  

Knowing about the picture and where it is from, makes Seungcheol feel equal part relief and sick. His heart aches for Jeonghan, that he had to experience something like that. But he is also worryingly bothered. Bothered that this wasn’t the end of it and as a consequence, Seungcheol wonders how much of the truth was told today. It makes him miserable to doubt Jeonghan, it is something he never wants to do. And - it only disrespected the honesty that Jeonghan had allowed him. 

But something felt off. 

Seungcheol doesn’t think this nagging feeling of discomfort will leave him until he finds out who did it. Overhearing Jeonghan’s quick dismissal towards Joshua stirred an uneasiness deep inside of him. If Jeonghan doesn’t want to divulge this information, Seungcheol won’t force him. But that’s not to say he won’t find out anyway. 

Seungcheol slows his breathing and watches Jeonghan sleep with a protective hand slung around the blonde’s waist. He isn’t very successful at falling back asleep. His mind is filled with all the potential possibilities of more bad news. He worries over it and then some. It is only after what feels like hours, when he’s about to finally drift off again, that his phone vibrates on the bedside table and he’s startled awake. 

Outside, the sun has begun to peek out from where she rested. Beautiful as she is, it is a quiet reminder that Seungcheol hasn’t managed to sleep at all. He is instantly alert and careful not to wake Jeonghan when he reaches for his phone. The light from his screen pierces his eyes and Seungcheol takes a few seconds to adjust to the offence before his gaze settles on Jihoon’s message. 

 

**Jihoon (6:03am)**

_Seokmin found him._

 

* * *

 

“It’ll be fine,” Vernon assures Seungkwan. He nods once, sharply - in the way Seungkwan is familiar with and Seungkwan feels just a _little_ better. He forces a smile and adjusts the backpack that is slung over his shoulders. 

The university is surprisingly crowded for 7:12am in the morning. On any other regular day, Seungkwan wouldn’t be caught dead on campus before 8am – with an iced coffee firmly in hand. Things felt upside down. Here he was strolling through the campus on what Vernon proposed as a ‘walk to take his mind off things’ and no iced coffee, just Vernon. It didn’t feel bad.

There is a distinct buzz of chatter floating around. Seungkwan renders it white noise and pushes it out of his mind. Vernon had texted him at 2am in the morning to check if he was still awake. He was, so Vernon suggested meeting early if he couldn’t sleep either way. It was sweet and it made Seungkwan smile into his pillow. 

“Really,” Vernon pinches his brows together, “I spoke to Jihoon hyung yesterday and he said that they’re going to handle it.” 

“Seungcheol hyung knows?” Seungkwan sniffs. He doesn’t really know Seungcheol that well, other than the fact that Vernon knows him and that Jeonghan is kind of involved with him – and that the entire university was basically a _scoups stan_. 

When he worriedly texted Jeonghan about the picture, the older guy had apologised. It made Seungkwan upset and angry all at once. _Why was Jeonghan hyung apologising? The asshole who sent it out should be apologising._ That’s what Seungkwan replied and Jeonghan only said that he was sorry Seungkwan had to see it and, not to worry. 

Seungkwan worried anyway.

“Yeah, he was with Jeonghan hyung when the blast went off.” Vernon shrugs. Seungkwan snorts. _Blast._ Damn straight it was a blast. May as well have just blasted everyone out of university. Irritated, he clicks his tongue and glares at a nondescript spot on the ground. 

Seungkwan hopes Mr. Choi Seungcheol is _really_ dealing with it. Hope he uses all that muscle mass for the good of mankind. Maybe, beat a person or two up. Seungkwan huffs to himself, chest still a little heavy. He wonders if Jeonghan will show up at university today. A part of him hopes he doesn’t, just for his own sake. Who knows what else is coming?

They’re almost about to reach the music building when a stray piece of paper floats towards them. The morning breeze takes it for a little spin and it dances with the wind, putting on a show in front of them. It twirls and swirls around rapidly – and then slowly.

Seungkwan reaches out and tries to catch it. It looks like a flier or something. He grabs at it with futile attempts and Vernon stands watch, amused. The piece of paper seems to evade Seungkwan with all its might, deciding to smack itself face down on Vernon’s chest. 

Vernon bursts into a chuckle and Seungkwan pouts, peeling the paper off his chest. He’s also got a smile on his face as he flips the paper over. 

Then his smile freezes. 

Seungkwan snaps his head at Vernon in horror before turning to the look at the music building just a bit away from them. His heart sinks at the sight of pieces of paper littered all around the vicinity. 

Someone mass printed the picture. 

Crushing the one he has in his hands, Seungkwan swears so harshly Vernon’s eyes widen in surprise. Then Seungkwan takes off, running in the direction of the building. Cold sweat bursts on his forehead from anticipation and fear. 

“ _Kwannie!_ ” Vernon calls after his quickly disappearing person. Frowning, Vernon bends at the knees and picks up the paper Seungkwan crushed. Pulling it open, his jaw drops at the sight of Jeonghan on full display, _again_. He too, swears and bolts after Seungkwan. 

Seungkwan darts his eyes around the music building in dismay. There are some pasted on the outer walls and lots of them just on the floor, littering the common area and just waiting to welcome the morning classes. Frantic, he starts mindlessly grabbing handfuls of the papers – all the while muttering anxiously, angrily under his breath. 

Someone walking to the music building pauses curiously before bending down to pick up a piece. Spotting them immediately, Seungkwan reaches the student in three long strides and snatches the picture out of their hands, spitting, “ _the hell are you looking at?_ ” His voice cracks a little from over exertion. Flinching backwards, the student rolls their eyes and calls Seungkwan ‘ _crazy_ ’.

“ _C-crazy_?” Seungkwan echoes, jaw dropping. He jerks his head back, taking full offence. Vernon pushes into his space then, holding him back with a firm grip and a shake of his head. 

“I’ll fucking **show** you crazy!” Seungkwan yells after the student who hurriedly disappears into the building. He’s visibly upset in Vernon’s grip and with no way to struggle free, Seungkwan bends down to the floor to pick up some fliers. The movement is awkward with his arm still in Vernon’s grip but Seungkwan doesn’t care. He scrunches up the paper and flings it at the door.

“Kwannie,” Vernon says softly. It is so soft, Seungkwan swings around with displeasure to glare at Vernon accusingly. _How can you be so calm?_ He wants to yell. But he takes a single look at Vernon and his thoughts are silenced. 

Vernon looks livid as he stares after the student.

 

* * *

 

Jeonghan feels himself naturally stir awake and he presses his face into the soft surface of the pillow below him – reluctant to wake. It smells like clean sheets, warmth and _Seungcheol_. Opening his eyes slowly, Jeonghan blinks the sleep away and realizes with slight surprise that Seungcheol’s side of the bed is empty.

The morning is quiet. Jeonghan listens for sound of activity but hears nothing. He glances around the room, taking a moment to familiarise himself with Seungcheol’s bedroom. It is a nice room. It radiates warmth not just literally (the morning sun kisses the bed as it rises) but also metaphorically. Jeonghan feels an unfamiliar sense of safety here – unfamiliar but not unwelcome.

Jeonghan sits contentedly unmoving on Seungcheol’s bed for a long while. He wonders where Seungcheol is and whether he should wonder about it at all. It is a whole half hour after that that Jeonghan finally swings his legs over the bed and pushes himself off.

He pads quietly to the bathroom and smiles a little to himself when he sees a new toothbrush in the toilet. Seungcheol has left one for him. Jeonghan takes it and brushes his teeth. He closes his eyes and lets himself get distracted in the mechanical movement of brushing - only stopping when his mouth is filled with foam and he can no longer hold it in. 

Ducking his head, Jeonghan spits it out cleanly and rinses his mouth. Then he splashes his face with cold water, relishing in the way his body rejects the shock with an uncontrollable shiver. Jeonghan pats his face lightly and then lifts his gaze to look at himself in the mirror. He stays motionless for a minute or two before letting out a short puff of breath. Then he straightens his back and walks out the bedroom to look for Seungcheol.

The house is quiet but once out of the bedroom, Jeonghan can hear someone downstairs in the kitchen. Jeonghan moves soundlessly, walking downstairs with light and careful steps. He stops just shy of the kitchen where he can hear Seungcheol murmuring to somebody over the phone. 

His immediate reaction is to feel relieved that Seungcheol is in the house. His second reaction is to stiffen at the threatening edge to Seungcheol’s voice.

He isn’t shouting and not once has he raised his voice but Jeonghan immediately decides he would prefer it if Seungcheol did. Instead of yelling, the baseball captain drops his voice into a low and dangerous tone. It makes Jeonghan shiver.  

“Yes,” Jeonghan hears Seungcheol say. 

“I will see you later.” He continues after a pause, “he’s still here. I’ll text you.” 

Deciding he’s heard enough, Jeonghan sucks in a breath and pushes himself off the wall he’s pressed himself against – right into Seungcheol’s view. 

Looking up at him almost immediately, the hard lines of Seungcheol’s deep, unhappy frown melt away into a picture of happy surprise. He pulls his phone away from his ear and cuts the line. Then Seungcheol stands to move towards him, phone abandoned.

“ _Hey,_ ” his voice is warm, like honey and unlike just seconds ago. Jeonghan smiles - a knee jerk reaction to Seungcheol. “Good morning.”

And then he murmurs, “don’t stop on my account,” eyes moving to Seungcheol’s phone.

“Oh,” Seungcheol is unfazed, eyes soft, “it’s nothing.” He moves towards Jeonghan and snakes an arm around his waist. 

“Did you sleep well?” Seungcheol asks against his head when Jeonghan gives in and leans into his touch. The blonde makes an agreeable sound from the back of his throat and Seungcheol beams, “good.” 

“Hungry?” Seungcheol asks again, voice velvety smooth. Jeonghan can hear it with extreme clarity from where Seungcheol murmurs against his ear. It tickles, so Jeonghan moves away with a breathy laugh. 

“I’m going to head home,” he says. “Thank you for letting me stay.” Seungcheol shakes his head as if Jeonghan is being ridiculous for thanking him. 

“Thanks for the toothbrush too.” Jeonghan presses his lips together to hide his shy smile. Seungcheol flashes a blinding grin and they stand in unsaid mutual affection for one another. 

Maybe Jeonghan was wrong about the bedroom and its warmth. Maybe it was just the entirety of Seungcheol. He felt it whenever he was with him. Embarrassed he peels his eyes away from Seungcheol’s gaze and focuses on where the baseball captain’s mouth has quirked up at the corner in satisfaction. 

“Did you - ” Jeonghan begins to say as he raises his hand towards Seungcheol’s face in an unconscious movement. The baseball captain blinks at him in clueless expectation, smile on his face. Jeonghan’s fingers ghost the bottom of Seungcheol’s eyes as he frowns a little. He doesn’t finish his question but Seungcheol understands. He laughs it off and catches Jeonghan’s hand. The unexpected show of concern warms Seungcheol’s heart and before he can comment on it, Jeonghan is already looking away, shy and feigning indifference. 

“I should go,” the blonde murmurs. 

“Let me take you,” Seungcheol nods, reaching across the counter for his keys. “I have to drop by uni later.” 

“You have class?” Jeonghan tilts his head and Seungcheol nod-shrugs, “something like that.” 

Jeonghan presses his lips together for a second. Seungcheol wasn’t telling him something. He reaches for the baseball captain’s hand and it steals Seungcheol’s attention immediately. He looks at Jeonghan with big, kind, expressive eyes.  

“You know that it’s – it’s,” Jeonghan clears his throat awkwardly, hand holding Seungcheol’s as he continues, “it’s really not that big a deal.” 

Seungcheol turns to him fully – waiting for him to continue. 

A part of Jeonghan will always be grateful for this. Seungcheol’s never pushed him to do or say anything. 

“I mean, the picture is just a picture. It doesn’t matter. I just wasn’t- I didn’t want you to see me that way but it’s out now so it’s fine. You don’t need to do anything.”  Jeonghan shrugs nonchalantly, trying to drive his point. 

Seungcheol curls his fingers around Jeonghan’s. 

“So just,” Jeonghan pulls a grin onto his face, “just, meet me after class? We can do something.” 

“Yes,” Seungcheol says with a firmness that reassures Jeonghan, “of course.” The blonde smiles for real, relieved. 

“Come on,” Seungcheol squeezes Jeonghan’s hand, “I’ll drive you home.” 

 

* * *

 

“Where’s Cheol-hyung?” Mingyu pushes his way into Jihoon’s studio. He must have been so distracted about Jihoon telling him he knew who it was that he had barely noticed the frightening number of fliers scattered both in and outside of the music building until he almost slipped on one of them – just barely catching himself before falling face first onto the floor. 

When Mingyu had flipped one of them over, his face twisted in wild panic. A curse slips out from his lips as he scrambles to stand, picking up as many as he can and running to trash them in the bin. Then he had hustled as quickly as he could to his flatmate’s studio. 

“You saw,” Jihoon replies, mouth pulling downwards, “he says he’s on his way.”

“You mean _everyon_ e is seeing!” Mingyu smacks a palm against his forehead, “they’re pasted all around and littering the lobby floor.” 

Jihoon clicks his tongue in distaste, swinging forcefully on his wheelie chair. He _knows._  

“Someone is really trying to make Jeonghan hyung’s life hell. Seungcheol hyung is going to-” The words die in Mingyu’s mouth and as his eyes widen in horror, “we need to tell Jeonghan hyung not to come.” 

“I don’t think he’ll show up,” Jihoon says with a frown, “not after what happened yesterday.” 

“I’m going to tell him anyway,” Mingyu shakes his head, hair bouncing about like a puppy. Jihoon watches as the younger boy types furiously away at his phone and then crinkles his already frowning forehead and asks, “You have his number?” 

“No,” Mingyu replies, “but Eight does.”

 

* * *

 

The awful, abrasive noise his phone makes as it rattles against the wooden top of his bedside table, wakes Minghao. Instead of silencing it and burrowing closer to Jun like he routinely does, he wordlessly reaches for it – bracing for news of well, _anything._

When his eyes focus and narrow in on Mingyu’s message, Minghao sucks in a sharp breath. The sound slices through the peaceful morning and beside him, Jun rouses from his sleep.

“What is it?” Jun mumbles, his words transition quickly from sleep-filled to worry. Minghao mutters a soft apology in which his boyfriend just shakes his head and cranes his neck to look at the message. 

The distraught expression that twists on Jun’s face is a kick to Minghao’s gut. 

"Seriously?” Jun scrunches his face like as if he’s tasted something bitter and foul, “fliers?” 

Minghao squares his jaw and calls Joshua.

 

* * *

 

“I know,” the senior says the moment he picks Minghao’s call up, “Seungkwan called me.” His voice is tight from displeasure but it fizzles away quickly. 

There was not much they could do about the fliers. The university would probably get it cleaned up, issue a warning or two but really, the damage was done. If people haven’t seen it from the mass blast, now they get to see it on hard copy. 

“Who?” The name is unfamiliar and Minghao doesn’t recall ever meeting this person. 

“He’s a music junior,” Joshua’s explanation comes quickly, “he loves Jeonghan.” 

“Okay,” Minghao sounds audibly relived before asking the important question, “where is _he_?” 

“He texted saying Seungcheol is bringing him home, so any moment now. Don’t worry. I’m not letting him near University today.” Joshua opens the fridge to pull out some fruit he had cut the night before. 

“Mingyu says Jihoon knows who did it. Someone on their end found out who posted the picture.” Minghao continues, his tone - deliberate and slow. Joshua swings the fridge door close and it snaps shut, echoing through the empty flat. 

“Does Seungcheol know?” Joshua asks, biting into an apple slice.

“Not yet,” the younger boy replies with certainty, “I don’t know if they got the right guy but either way, I’m meeting Mingyu later. I told him that if there’s a confrontation, I’m going.” 

There is a knowing pause before Minghao adds, “I’ll text you when I meet him.” 

“Perfect,” Joshua smiles. 

 

* * *

 

“I’ll call you when I’m done,” Seungcheol leans over the gears to press a quick kiss to Jeonghan’s cheek. 

The blonde eyes him, unsure if he should reiterate what he’s already said before. The way Seungcheol sounded on the phone in the morning was replaying in his mind. It unsettled him but the words catch in his mouth. Seungcheol raises his brows in silent question before they slant down in worry at Jeonghan’s hesitation.

“Should I go in with you?” Seungcheol offers, ducking his head down to he can look up at the apartments towering over his car. 

“No,” Jeonghan shakes his head quickly and smiles, “I’ll see you later.” Seungcheol’s face softens with affection as he nods an ‘OK’. He pulls Jeonghan in to press another quick kiss to his forehead before letting him go. 

The blonde hops out the car and Seungcheol waits until he can no longer see him before driving off. 

Then he jams his foot on his pedal and the car jerks to movement with an impatient purr. Face hard and jaw tense, Seungcheol speeds to campus a little more recklessly than he usually allows himself.

 

* * *

 

Jihoon and Mingyu are already waiting for him and they don’t bat a lid when swings the studio door open forcefully. Stalking in, Seungcheol flings the door close, intending to slam it. Then he decides within the split second not to and snaps a hand out to grip the door, curbing the inertia immediately. He takes a shaky breath in and then clicks the door close softly.

Seungcheol’s blood is _boiling_ from the fliers. Mingyu had texted him about them already but seeing them first hard was sure _something._ All it did was rile him up and make him furious. It is a tired kind of anger – a frustrating cycle of continuous attacks that he wants to defend against. It makes him immediately want to safeguard Jeonghan but also lash out at the instigator. He knows the latter won’t do any good but the temptation is still sweet and alluring. 

When he turns to look both of his closest friends in the eye, a realization dawns over him. The way Mingyu is looking at him – eyes round and upset – tells him Jihoon’s already told him. 

Seungcheol snaps his gaze to his best friend and demands, “ **who is it**?” 

 

* * *

 

 

Jeonghan peers into the house, peeking around for Joshua and when he spots him, he breaks into a shy smile. 

“Hey, you,” Joshua smiles back from where he’s stood in the kitchen. He bites into an apple slice and raises his eyebrows at Jeonghan, “you look nice. Are those Seungcheol’s clothes?” 

“I always look nice,” the blonde sniffs, deliberately avoiding the question. Joshua snorts an amused laugh and gestures him over to have some fruit. 

“When did you get fruit?” Jeonghan ‘ _ooos’_ at the selection of apples, strawberries, blueberries and some pear. He immediately reaches for a strawberry, biting into the fresh fruit and dying his lips red.

“Yesterday,” Joshua shrugs, leaning his weight on the counter. He watches as Jeonghan nibbles on the berry before letting out a sorry sigh and opening his mouth to say something. 

Joshua already knows what he wants to say.  

“The only thing you should be sorry for,” Joshua clears his throat, “is taking the largest strawberry.” 

The wary look Jeonghan was sporting morphs into a guilty grin as he ducks away from Joshua’s playful swat. 

“How was Seungcheol?” Joshua tilts his head to the side, eyes crinkling as he smiles.

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol’s heart sinks and aches all at the same time. He lifts a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and exhales slowly. There was no way he could have guessed who it was. He couldn’t even begin to think about _why_ anyone would hate Jeonghan enough to do this and to learn that it was one of the boys under his direct charge – it hurt. 

Having had a longer time to process this information, Mingyu and Jihoon are quiet and watching Seungcheol. The both of them wear very different expressions. 

Jihoon is assessing Seungcheol. Eyes trained on him and face evaluative. Seungcheol knows he’s trying to gauge if he’d suspected this or - if he didn’t see it coming whatsoever. There’s a sort of unknowing innocence to it. It is a given, seeing Jihoon doesn’t know most of the kids on the baseball team anyway. The knowledge didn’t quite hurt him like it did Seungcheol. 

Or Mingyu.

The younger boy isn’t even looking at Seungcheol anymore. Sat on the couch of the studio, he’s hunched over his knees and frowning at the ground. His shoulders are tensed and head, bowed.

“I’ll speak to him after practice.” Seungcheol’s voice is rough from emotion but firm. 

Jihoon stares at him for a moment before nodding. Seungcheol can feel his unsaid relief. He knows his best friend would have stopped him if he stormed out, letting his emotions overwhelm him and take over - so he held it together. 

Turning to look at Mingyu, Seungcheol’s face twists in sadness. “Mingyu.” He calls. The younger boy doesn’t look up, decidedly focused on the spot of nothing on the floor. 

“Mingyu,” Seungcheol says a little sharper, causing Mingyu to snap his head up. A reflex of respect. Eyes locked on each other, Seungcheol softens his gaze. 

“It’ll be fine.” He assures despite the turmoil in his heart. He already hates that he has to bring this up. “We just have to speak to him. I’m sure he...” The words die in Seungcheol’s mouth as he feels a surge of overwhelming anger. 

It runs along his skin, crackling like electricity. It taunts him and whispers devious ideas in his ear. He wanted to say that he’s sure he has a reason. But **no** reason will be good enough for Seungcheol. The image of Jeonghan pulling one of his stunning but evasive smiles flashes in his mind. It’s like an unexpected, invasive camera flash. Too loud, too bright and - almost painful. 

Seungcheol knows he’s about to lose it. He can hear the tell-tale _ringing_ in his ear - it comes when he’s about to snap. 

“ **Cheol** ,” a voice pulls him back. 

It is calm, levelled and it is Jihoon’s. 

Seungcheol’s eyes widen at his best friend and he runs a hand down his tired face. He nods, even though Jihoon has said nothing more. The look on his face says enough. _You’ll regret it if you lose it._

Seungcheol glares at a spot behind Jihoon’s head for a prolonged moment before he looks at Mingyu and says, “come on, practice starts in a bit.” 

Mingyu stands reluctantly, following Seungcheol out of Jihoon’s studio. They walk silently out of the music building and it is only when they’re almost about to reach the locker room that Seungcheol reaches into his back pocket for his phone. 

He frowns at it for a long moment. It is still flooded with notifications and unread messages from random people and friends alike. Seungcheol ignores them all, pulling up the number of the person he feels is best suited to handle this. 

 

* * *

 

Joshua is in the middle of a full-on tackle with Jeonghan when his phone starts ringing in his pocket. Limbs tangled in and around his best friend, his breathless laugh huffs out of his body. They had fought for the last fruit and ended in a playful tumble on the ground. 

Trying to twist to get his phone, Joshua yelps when Jeonghan jabs his foot in his side. He turns to flick Jeonghan on his forehead, forcing the blonde to back down as he retrieves his phone. He shoots Jeonghan a gently reprimanding look, one that the blonde curls his body up in a giggly defence.  

It takes Joshua less than a second to pick up after glancing at the caller. 

“Hey,” he greets, still smiling at Jeonghan but mind, alert.

“Is this a good time?” The reply comes and Joshua notices that Seungcheol’s usual warmth is missing. It’s been replaced with a tightness. Much like a rubber band waiting to snap. 

“Go ahead,” Joshua’s voice contrasts Seungcheol’s - calm meeting tense. 

Jeonghan flips to the ground in mock irritation that Joshua’s attention is diverted and he chirps disruptively, “hello! Joshua Hong Jisoo speaking!” 

Joshua knows that Jeonghan’s voice rings clear on the line and he can hear Seungcheol’s hesitation.

“I know who’s behind the leaks.” Seungcheol says finally and Joshua closes his eyes in silent commendation. “He’s one of my boys on the team and I’m going to speak to him after practice today.” Seungcheol pauses to take a shallow breath and Joshua waits. 

“I was wondering if you would - if you could come.” Seungcheol finishes. Joshua glances at his best friend, still on the floor opposite him making weird eyebrow movements at him. 

“Of course.” Joshua says easily, smile on his face as he mirrors Jeonghan’s silly expression.

 

* * *

 

Minghao leafs his hands through his carefully hung jackets, lips pursed in thought. After weighing an invisible scale in his mind, he settles on his leather one. He lifts it off the rack and eyes it, evaluating. Behind him and still in bed, Jun watches quietly. He doesn’t actually watch _that_ quietly because Minghao can hear his mind racing with questions.

Turning to his boyfriend, Minghao raises his eyebrows. Caught, Jun muffles a shy laugh into his hands. 

“Are you dressing for class or a fight?” Jun murmurs, smile still on his face but tone, a little sad. Minghao raises his brows at the question but Jun doesn’t elaborate so he sighs.

“Nobody is fighting with anyone.” He says, shrugging the jacket on. 

Jun pushes his bottom lip out. 

“So, I can come?”

“No.” Minghao dismisses quickly before sighing again and running a hand through his hair. 

“Seungcheol hyung and Mingyu are just going to speak to him.” He insists.

“Why are you going then?” Jun’s large, puppy-dog eyes weaken Minghao so he looks away. 

“Mingyu let slip how badly he wants to rough this guy up and I’m not going to let that happen.” 

“What if you get roughed up?” Jun’s face contorts with concern. 

“I know how to use nunchucks,” a sly grin pulls on Minghao’s face. 

“You’re bringing **your nunchucks**?” Jun almost yells. Minghao throws his head back and cackles. He wheezes a little then straightens his back.

“No,” he deadpans his face, “but I should.”

Jun glares at him disapprovingly but there is little bite to it. Laughing, Minghao walks over to where he’s sprawled on their bed and bends over him.

“I’ll call you after,” Minghao whispers to him, pulling Jun’s hand away from where he’s trying to cover his face. When Jun relents and Minghao gets a good view of his face, Jun says quietly, “he won’t like this.” 

Minghao stares at Jun for a brief moment before pressing a kiss to his lips. A physical evasion of what his boyfriend has said. The silent protest Jun makes with his eyes isn’t lost on Minghao - in fact, it is tucked away preciously, close to his heart. 

A reminder for later.   

 

* * *

 

The locker room was one of Mingyu’s favourite places. It’s the place that he learned how to - in Wonwoo’s words - ‘function as a pack’. His boyfriend had said it with an amused snort and at the time, Mingyu had taken mild offence.  

“I’m my own person,” he insisted with a slight whine. Wonwoo only laughed at him, “oh you _definitely_ are.” 

“Stop teasing me,” Mingyu groans, slumping against the cafe table. It makes Wonwoo crinkle his nose in affection.  

“It’s not a bad thing, you know.” He says. 

“Being my own person?” Mingyu widens his eyes a little.

“No, you idiot.” Wonwoo fully laughs now, throwing his head back in a way that still makes Mingyu’s heart flutter like it did the first time. Wonwoo could laugh at him all day and he doesn’t think he’d actually mind. Not that he’d ever tell Wonwoo that - the older guy would probably leverage on that. 

“Working as a team, I mean,” the smile on Wonwoo’s face softening. “It’s like a second family. Don’t you think?” 

Wonwoo was right, he usually is. 

And right now, Mingyu’s second family is falling apart. Their house - the locker room – once noisier than the market on a weekend, was now so quiet Mingyu could hear his own heart beating.

The stifling tension makes him duck his head into his locker and sigh. 

Seungcheol directly affected the team in more ways than one. He was the firm, unshakable pillar that supported everyone. He is the glue that bound them together - Seungcheol resolved conflict and strengthened bonds. That’s just the way things have always been.

Now that _he_ was the one to pull away from the team, nobody knew how to react. Practice was like trying to thread through a minefield of Seungcheol’s unpredictable emotions. 

His phone pinging and echoing in the metal cave of his locker jolts Mingyu out of his thoughts. He glances down at the message and grabs his phone immediately, clutching it with a little sigh of relief. 

 

**Eight**

I’ll be there. 

You finish in an hour? 

 

**Nine**

oh thank god practice has been hell 

 

**Eight**

You ok? 

 

**Nine**

cheol hyung is not 

 

**Eight**

I asked about you 

 

**Nine**

im fine 

 

**Eight**

Did you speak to the guy? 

 

**Nine**

no 

can’t even look at him

actually nobody is even looking at each other

it’s a miracle I even batted today

 

**Eight**

You’ll feel better once you’ve spoken about it.

 

**Nine**

I think he’s just a bully hao 

there’s no other explanation

I mean not like I know him super well

other than the fact we’ve spent every practice together

he’s always been a p good guy u know?

fuck I don’t know

maybe hes got a crush on scoups

oh y g

OH MY GOD

 

**Eight**

Stop that

 

**Nine**

it is a possibility

right??????

 

**Eight**

I’ll see you after practice, gyu. 

Mingyu juts his bottom lip out at Minghao’s response and flings his phone into his locker, snapping it shut after. 

 

* * *

 

 

Sprawled unceremoniously on their sofa with a leg hanging over the back rest, Jeonghan observes Joshua with a relaxed sort of curiosity. It feels like he’s been disallowed from going anywhere near the university today. Everyone was being overdramatic but he didn’t have it in him to protest. Jeonghan didn’t want to shake the boat. His boat had only just stopped rocking this morning.

He _could_ be content wasting a day at home. Of course, it wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy a day of doing absolutely nothing – Jeonghan just usually preferred doing nothing outside, like in a park or in a café. 

“Do you have class too?” Jeonghan asks accusingly after realizing that Joshua has been packing a bag.

“Mmhmm,” his best friend nods from where he is.

“I thought you had Thursdays off,” Jeonghan wriggles deeper into the couch.

“I do,” Joshua agrees, “but my recording with Bumzu is coming up, remember?”

“Oh,” Jeonghan touches his lips, wincing a bit at the combination of forgetting and remembering _his_ own failed recording. Joshua shoots him a knowing glance.

“Don’t do that to yourself,” he tuts before adding, “I’ll only be gone a few hours.”

Jeonghan sighs dramatically, “o- _kay._ ”

“Do I need to call a babysitter?” Joshua raises his brows mockingly. Jeonghan huffs, blowing a bit of his fringe out of his face.

“I’ll have you know-” His words are cut off by the sound of their doorbell ringing. A grin pulls on Jeonghan’s face immediately and he remains exactly where he is as his best friend moves to open the door.

“Seokmin,” Joshua’s eyes widen, pleasantly surprised.

“Hyung!” the younger guy beams, smile over taking his face. He kicks off his shoes and pulls Joshua into a quick but warm hug.

Patting him back on the shoulder, Joshua turns to look at Jeonghan’s satisfied smirk. Joshua rolls his eyes.

“It’s good to see you,” Joshua tells Seokmin, “now I can go to work in peace knowing that my _child_ is in good hands.”

Seokmin puffs out his chest and signs a ‘thumbs up’.

 

* * *

 

 

Seungcheol waits for their coach to berate them about their horrendous performance over the past two weeks. He _does_ and Seungcheol’s sense of responsibility battles his indifference towards practice in general. With the coach going on about how shit they have been recently, Seungcheol tunes out and finds himself unable to tear his eyes away from the back of _his_ head.

Practice is almost over. The team’s morale is at an all-time low. Nobody has been performing and everyone is visibly exhausted (be it emotional or physical). It is almost a little hilarious how coach is now asking them if they’ve got some issues they want to talk about. Nobody responds.

“ ** _Coups_**?” Coach barks in Seungcheol’s direction, a look of expectation on his face. He must be frustrated too. The best team he’s had in years now falling apart for a reason he doesn’t know. The team turn their heads to look at Seungcheol – quite like a flock of ducklings looking to their mother.

“No, Coach.” Seungcheol says with a firmness that fools even himself.

“Well,” Coach huffs. Seungcheol can see his disappointment. “If there are no issues to talk about then I better see the lot of you play like there are no issues.”

It is only after another fifteen minutes of coach voicing his dissatisfaction that they are dismissed. The team doesn’t move from where they’re sat on the field though. Instead, they turn to look at Seungcheol who’s been standing behind them all this while.

Seungcheol isn’t sure what expression he’s wearing. His forehead hurts from frowning so hard and his jaw aches from being clenched. One look at Mingyu is all his heart needs to pick up pace and begin hammering because it’s _time._

“You heard Coach.” Seungcheol says, eyes flitting over every member until he lands on one. The boy stiffens a little at Seungcheol’s unwavering gaze but he doesn’t look away. Eyes locked on the boy, Seungcheol continues, “I want everyone to think about their actions and their consequences. You have the whole weekend to think about it and when practice starts again on Monday, I want none of this bullshit.” 

A consensus murmuring of agreement fills the air in different varying degrees of loudness.

“Go then,” Seungcheol jerks his head towards the shower rooms, then he adds a little mercifully, “you guys smell.”

Some boys stifle their chuckles but quickly hustle away when Seungcheol mock glares at them. They’re mid-disperse when Seungcheol calls, “ _Hyunbin_.”

Hyunbin pauses to turn to look at Seungcheol, eyes wide.

“Coups hyung,” he acknowledges a little warily.

Around them, most of the boys are moving away. Some of them turn to glance at Hyunbin curiously, but nobody attempts to linger. When the only person left is Mingyu, Seungcheol speaks again, “can we talk?”

 

* * *

 

 

The café that Joshua and Minghao are sat waiting in has clusters of air plants hanging from the ceiling. It makes Joshua smile and he pulls out his phone to snap a picture to send to Jeonghan. He chuckles when the blonde sends him a sad emoji for being left out.

Feeling Minghao’s gaze on him, Joshua looks up. He tilts his head in question.

“Juni thinks this is a bad idea.” Minghao says, eyes dropping to the condensation on his iced coffee before looking back up at the older guy. Joshua nods understandingly.

“Are we…” Minghao’s voice trails off.

“Are we?” Joshua prompts.

The younger boy inhales a deep breath and leans forward on the table.

“We don’t know what he will do.” Minghao rephrases.

“We don’t.” Joshua confirms, “that’s why we’re going.”

Minghao stares at Joshua for a long moment, assessing the older guy before relenting and nodding. They sit in quiet understanding until Minghao’s phone _pings_.

“Practice is over.”

“Let’s go,” Joshua nods, rising from his seat. 

His coffee is unfinished and abandoned.

 

* * *

 

Mingyu clutches his phone close to his ear trying to focus on his boyfriend’s voice, all the while keeping up with trailing after Seungcheol and Hyunbin. His heart is racing – a clusterfuck of nervousness, anger and fear. Seungcheol seems to be leading them out of sight from the general public, which is understandable, but he worries Minghao and Joshua won’t be able to find them. The baseball team had various rooms and sheds that they used to both store equipment and use. Someone off the team would have a pretty hard time finding where to go.

“…now? You’re going right now?” Wonwoo’s voice comes suddenly and loudly in his ear. Mingyu cringes and makes a whining noise at the back of his throat.

“ _Mingyu,_ ” Wonwoo says calmly, “Where are you guys going?”

“Uhh… I don’t know yet, I’m – I’m following them,” Mingyu stutters, distracted as he keeps a close watch on Seungcheol. “I think Cheol hyung is going to one of the sheds.”

“Where?” his boyfriend asks. Mingyu can hear rustling on the line and he thinks Wonwoo is planning on coming as well.

“I don’t know how to explain where-” 

“Ok babe, turn on your _find friends_ , I’ll find you.”

“Okay,” Mingyu agrees, relived.

“Don’t worry.” Wonwoo reassures, “Seungcheol won’t do anything stupid. He’s better than that.”

 

 

* * *

 

Seokmin watches Jeonghan with a tiny smile on his face as the blonde peruses his music selection, looking for a song to play. He had dropped everything (quite literally – his phone screen has a tiny crack on it now) when Jeonghan finally called him to ask if he wanted to hang out.

The senior had very expertly avoided all conversation of the picture and out of respect, Seokmin had also deleted it off every electronic device he owned. Jeonghan had also seemed to avoid Seokmin for a few days. It had worried him but Seokmin has known Jeonghan for a long enough time to know that he always came back when he was ready.

He didn’t have much time to worry about Jeonghan not responding to his messages anyway. The past few days have been busy; Seokmin was occupied tracking down the person who had posted the picture. _Lee Hyunbin._ A part of him was relieved that he didn’t know the guy. He didn’t want to imagine how it’ll feel to have one of his friends do this. It was horrible to think about.

Seokmin had sent the name, class and whatever details he could find to Jihoon in a concise message. When Jihoon replied saying he’d take care of it, Seokmin felt the bulk of his worry ease. Jihoon was a trustworthy sort of character – pudding incident aside – Seokmin trusted the senior.

It was going to be okay. 

Seokmin smiles at the thought.

“What are you smiling about?” Jeonghan eyes him suspiciously and nudges him with the heel of his foot. Seokmin shrugs and leans forward on the coffee table to cradle his face in his hands. Jeonghan tilts his head and narrows his eyes playfully at him.

“What?” The blonde probes.

“Nothing,” Seokmin beams back brightly.

“ _Fool_ ,” Jeonghan teases.

“Jeonghan hyung’s fool,” Seokmin grins, teeth flashing. Surprised, Jeonghan smacks his shoulder but the delight is evident on the blonde’s face.

Seokmin lets himself be smacked and smiles throughout. He loved Jeonghan with all of his heart. Them being friends in the first place had been completely unexpected. They’d met by accident outside one of the recording studios – it was Seokmin’s first year. He was sat on the floor with his back pressed against the wall, stressed. Seokmin’s first ever recording had gone less than satisfactory. Actually, it had gone devastatingly.

He was asked if he was sure he wanted to be a vocalist. Told that he lacked confidence and everyone could hear it in his voice. That he wasn’t going to go very far if he kept this up. 

It had taken all of his strength not to burst into tears right there and then. Singing is and has been his everything. Without it, he felt like he had nothing. Excusing himself, he had run hurriedly to the bathroom where he allowed himself to cry. When he’d felt like he’d given himself enough time to calm down, he went out and walked back to the studio. He was right outside the studio but he couldn’t bring himself to go back in. He was afraid.

So, he sat on the floor outside.

That was when Jeonghan strolled past him, whistling a cheerful tune. Seokmin had just barely registered him the first time but when he got a better look, he ducked his head down quickly. It was _Yoon Jeonghan_ , the music building’s angel prince. Seokmin had heard so many things about him – how he looked like a literal angel, how he was drop dead breath-taking but also how he was rumoured to be cruel and how he was not to be played with.

Seeing him up close, Seokmin was struck with awe. Yoon Jeonghan _is_ breathtakingly beautiful. So much so that he looked a little unreal. Despite being struck with admiration, Seokmin remembers the other side to the rumours and hides his face in hopes that Jeonghan doesn’t notice him. He looks awful after all, he just cried his eyeballs out.

The blonde doesn’t get very far before stopping and turning to look at Seokmin. Making a curious face and cocking his head, Jeonghan walks up to Seokmin and bends over.

“Are you locked out?” the blonde asks, friendly.

Seokmin nearly chokes on his spit when he looks up to see Yoon Jeonghan’s face inches away from his. He flushes beetroot red and presses himself against the wall, wishing the wall would allow him to phase through it. Alas, it is but a wall. 

“Uh- I Uh,” Seokmin stutters, flustered. Jeonghan juts his bottom lips out and straightens his back.

“I got you,” The blonde winks at him, pulling out his key card and moving to scan the door to give Seokmin access.

“No!” Seokmin gasps, grabbing Jeonghan’s wrist with a speed that startles the senior. The blonde wides his eyes and blinks at Seokmin.

“No?” He echoes, tilting his head to the side again.

The flush Seokmin was sporting is now a full body flush and he can feel it burning his face off. He groans inwardly and quickly releases Jeonghan’s wrist, muttering an apology.

“Hmmmmmm,” There’s a sparkle in Jeonghan’s eyes as they narrow at Seokmin. He turns to look at the schedule on the door.

“Prof. Jong?” Jeonghan reads off the schedule, “first year…”

Next to him, Seokmin nods dumbly. 

“Prof. Jong is an asshole.” The blonde puts his hands on his hips and nods like he’s agreeing with himself. Seokmin snaps a hand to his mouth to curb the surprised laugh that bursts through. Jeonghan eyes him then, and Seokmin does his best to not fidget under the senior’s gaze. He hopes it isn’t obvious how upset he was.

“He told me I was going to drop out of Pledis _every single class_ I had with him,” Jeonghan rolls his eyes and waves a hand as he speaks, “I’m still here, and a third year.”

Then, the blonde gasps and Seokmin jumps at the sudden sound.

“That rhymes!” Jeonghan claps his hands with glee. Seokmin coughs a laugh at the blonde and Jeonghan grins back.

“Come on,” Jeonghan grabs his arm, “Prof. Jong can suck it. Come hang out with me! Want to see a year three studio? Do you know the music building is haunted? Woozi haunts us all every day. Sometimes if you listen really hard, you can hear him shuffling across the levels.”

“W-woozi?” Seokmin echoes, startled as he’s pulled up onto his feet and already dragged halfway across the hall – far away from Prof. Jong’s studio.

“ _SHHHH_!!!!!” Jeonghan gasps exaggeratedly, before whispering, “he’ll hear you!”

After spending an entire day with Yoon Jeonghan and having played a bunch of very ridiculous games in the first ever third year studio Seokmin had ever stepped foot in, he decided that everyone had Yoon Jeonghan misunderstood – and that he _is_ an actual angel. Almost always tired and sometimes, very irritable but an angel through and through.  

Shaking his head and his thoughts away, Seokmin pulls himself back to the present. Jeonghan is eyeing him with a curious sort of suspicion. Seokmin smiles back, full of warmth and affection for the blonde. He would dig up _anything_ on _anyone_ if it meant that Jeonghan would be safe and happy. He’s heard enough nasty things about the blonde and was horrified at the picture. Whatever it was, Seokmin didn’t care. All he cared about was that it was going to be fixed.

“Don’t worry anymore hyung,” Seokmin says with certainty that makes Jeonghan raise a brow. The blonde has a vague clue of what he’s referring to but at the same time, no clue at all. He doesn’t ask about it though. He chooses to just stare at Seokmin questioningly, mouth twisted up at the corner in a smirk.

Jeonghan very rarely talks about his problems and Seokmin knows it isn’t because he doesn’t have any. The senior just preferred to solve them himself – or pretend they don’t exist. Either way, this time was different. This was a public harassment and not something Seokmin thought Jeonghan was well equipped to deal with.

He watches Jeonghan lift his cup of tea to his lips and sip at it – all the while eyeing Seokmin expectantly.

“I found out who was spreading the pictures and Jihoon hyung said he will handle it. I think the guy is also on the baseball team so Seungch-”

The sound of Jeonghan’s cup falling to the ground and smashing into dangerous pieces, interrupts Seokmin.

“Hyung!” He gasps immediately, startled. He widens his eyes at the blonde and glances at the broken cup. “Are you okay? Did you cut yourself?” Seokmin asks quickly, moving to the broken pieces, “Don’t touch it.”

“What?” Jeonghan’s voice is small and meek.

Seokmin turns to him and repeats gently, “Don’t touch the broken pieces.”

“No,” Jeonghan says louder now, voice shaking. There’s a tight edge to his voice and Seokmin blinks at him, confused.

“What did you just say?” The blonde stands from the couch slowly. His eyes are unfocused and it shoots a jolt of immediate discomfort up Seokmin’s spine.

“I- I said I found the guy and Jihoon hyung said he will handle it. Seungcheol hyung is going to speak to him today-”

Jeonghan pales. The colour drains so quickly and so surely from his face, Seokmin stops talking. Stumbling over the coffee table, Jeonghan clambers away from the sofa in a frenzy. Seokmin blinks at him in shock. He doesn’t know what’s happening and he wonders if he’s said something wrong.

Jeonghan is grabbing at his wallet and keys, eyes panicked and shoulders tense.

“H-hyung!” Seokmin calls, body moving automatically to follow the blonde. He is suddenly afraid.

“ ** _Where?!_** ” Jeonghan almost shouts at him. Seokmin’s eyes widen in alarm.

“I-I don’t know. I think they-they’re going to talk to him after baseball practice,” Seokmin replies quickly, the words gush out of his lips in a flurry, “don’t worry about it, Seungcheol hyung will- Hyung!” Seokmin’s heart sinks when Jeonghan’s face twists in fearful dread. He’s looking at Seokmin but he really isn’t looking at him.

Before Seokmin can open his mouth again, Jeonghan turns on his heel and bolts out of the flat.

 

* * *

 

“What is this about?” Hyunbin asks finally when they’re in the equipment shed. The boy crinkles his brow, unsure. Mingyu stands slightly behind Seungcheol and wears a tight expression. In front of him, he notes the way Seungcheol’s shoulders have relaxed. It scares him. The tension that was once knotted in his shoulders have eased away into a frightening calm.

“Mingyu?” Hyunbin’s eyes flit to his friend for some reassurance when Seungcheol doesn’t respond. Mingyu lowers his gaze and stays quiet. The shed fills with palpable tension and for the briefest of moments, when Mingyu looks at Hyunbin’s soft and wary expression, he thinks to himself, they got the wrong guy. There is no way Lee Hyunbin, the resident sweetheart of the team, could do this.

The three of them stand suspended by the suffocating unease. Mingyu wonders to himself where Minghao is and releases a silent prayer into the universe, asking that he arrive soon. 

Seungcheol begins to move.

His hand moves slowly into his back pocket - the back pocket of his dirty, mud stained baseball pants. He pulls out a carefully folded piece of paper and Mingyu’s heart sinks. He lowers his head again, face crumpling in dismay at the realization that Seungcheol had been walking around with _that_ in his pocket.

The agonizing few seconds where Seungcheol unfolds the piece of paper makes Mingyu squirm where he stands. Then, Seungcheol holds it out in front of Hyunbin and Mingyu watches his friend’s face carefully.

Hyunbin’s face goes from unsure to indifferent. He looks down at the flier and says, “wow.”

The incredulous drop of Mingyu’s jaw is immediate. _Wow?_ **_Wow?_**

The air shifts dangerously and Mingyu clenches his first.

“You recognize it?” Seungcheol asks, lifting his head to look at the boy.

“No,” Hyunbin shrugs and Mingyu bristles. His anger flares at his friend’s audacity.

“I see,” Seungcheol nods slowly before continuing, “One of my friends traced the source of the photo back to your id.” His voice is smooth and calm but all it does is rile Mingyu up more.

Hyunbin shrugs easily, “your friend is wrong, coups hyung. They probably-”

The boy stops mid-sentence when the shed door creaks open. All three turn their heads towards the interruption and Mingyu locks eyes with his best friend. Minghao offers him a small nod in acknowledgment. Next to him, Mingyu sees Joshua’s eyes narrow in on Hyunbin.

“What are they doing here?” Hyunbin blurts suddenly, composure cracking a little.

Seungcheol stands taken aback slightly at the flash of recognition in Hyunbin’s eyes. He turns to see Joshua walking towards them and dips his head slightly – a thank you for showing up. But Joshua looks right past Seungcheol and straight at Hyunbin – his delicate features pulled in a beautiful smile. It is unsettling.

In front of Seungcheol, Hyunbin takes a step back as Joshua moves towards them. Seungcheol frowns, confused.

Mingyu turns to look at his best friend but Minghao is staring at Joshua.

“Why the fuck are they here?” Hyunbin spits again, eyes trained solely on Joshua. 

“What do you mean?” Seungcheol asks calmly despite his own confusion. He watches as Joshua reaches for the flier he’s holding and takes it with a thoughtful face.

Hyunbin clamps his mouth shut in defiance, eyes flashing before whipping his head around to Seungcheol to address him directly.

“You don’t know who you’re messing with, coups hyung.” He says, half threatening, half pleading. Seungcheol raises his brows in offence. Next to him, Joshua is still looking at the flier.

“Excuse me?” Seungcheol jerks his head back, voice lowering dangerously.

 

* * *

 

Seokmin feels his lungs burn from the lack of oxygen as he chases Jeonghan out of his apartment, down the block and across to campus. He’d always known that the blonde was deceivingly athletic but today was really proving him something. He’d yelled after Jeonghan a few times before realizing that he isn’t even listening anymore.

Jeonghan speeds through the campus in a blur. He nearly trips and Seokmin’s heart skips a dangerous beat at the sight of the senior stumbling – he silently hopes he doesn’t fall. When Jeonghan regains his balance, and picks up pace again, Seokmin thanks the universe. His heart is pounding from fear and anxiety. To say that he was worried about what he’d done, is an understatement. Seokmin cannot stop feeling like he fucked something up.

Unable to do anything but follow Jeonghan, Seokmin keeps close chase on the blonde like his life depends on it.

He doesn’t know where they’re going and it is only when Jeonghan runs towards the baseball field, does Seokmin gain a little more understanding. They reach the baseball field and Jeonghan runs so fast he cannot help but crash into the metal fence. The metal shakes and makes a rattling noise against the weight. Jeonghan grabs the fences and eyes the empty field with frenzied panic.

Seokmin stands slightly behind him, panting and unsure of what to do. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Jeonghan so flustered. The blonde’s eyes are blown wide and he’s glancing around frantically.

“Hyung,” Seokmin tries but Jeonghan is on the move again. He sprints to the locker rooms and curses when they reach only to find it empty. He slams the door shut and Seokmin flinches. Jeonghan stands motionless for a minute, eyes unfocused and lips mumbling something Seokmin cannot hear.

And then – he starts running again.

They run past the equipment sheds and Jeonghan opens every single door. Some of the doors he tried, Seokmin would have completely missed if he was alone.

Jeonghan squeezes past a narrow space littered with cleaning supplies and it is then that Seokmin realizes with sudden clarity that Jeonghan has been here before. Not just before, but been here enough times to know every nook and cranny of the place.

 

* * *

 

“He’s the cursed prince. He’s cursed for a reason.” Hyunbin bites, eyes snapping to the flier before dragging back up to Seungcheol’s face. “And-” Hyunbin glances at Joshua but doesn’t say anymore.

“You said you don’t recognize this,” the baseball captain’s voice dips into a dangerous tone. Hyunbin scoffs, mouth twisting down before he says, “Everyone knows who he is because he’s a slut.”

The words slap everyone in the room and it tightens the tension coil. Mingyu takes an automatic step forward in retaliation and Seungcheol holds a firm arm out to stop him despite close to snapping himself. He had almost punched Hyunbin but Mingyu’s impulsive step snapped him out of it.

“The **fuck** did you say?” Mingyu growls.

“Mingyu,” Hyunbin sighs with visible frustration, “why are you behaving like you don’t know this. _Everyone_ knows this. Now he’s going straight for Coups hyung and you’re just sitting there _watching?_ I thought you cared about coups. He’s going to ruin coups, he’s fucking done it before and he’ll do it again. Because he’s a fucking **asshole**.”

“So you _did_ spread the fliers,” Seungcheol confirms, hand still forming a barrier between Mingyu and Hyunbin. He can feel Mingyu shaking and wonders if Mingyu can feel him shaking too. He struggles to fight back the fury that Hyunbin has been fanning ever since he opened his foul mouth. There’s an unfamiliar twist of resentment building momentum in Seungcheol and in a moment of desperation, he glances at Joshua – he is a picture of calm. A stark contrast to the turmoil raging in his chest. Seungcheol is eternally grateful for it.

“Yeah, so what?” Hyunbin jeers, “do you know how many guys from the team he’s fucked? Oh right, you don’t know that because,” Hyunbin clamps his mouth shut suddenly, without warning – refusing to continue.

 _Because?_ Seungcheol wants to bite back but he holds his tongue. 

“He’s ruined lives and the lot of you are standing here defending him,” Hyunbin says with contempt, “disgusting.”

“He’s **disgusting** ,” Hyunbin repeats, glaring at Mingyu before looking at Seungcheol with an almost pleading expression. Seungcheol stiffens at it. There’s a bitter taste on his tongue.

“ _Please_ hyung, just stop going out with him.”

How _dare_ he say that? Seungcheol wants to know. He wants to know so badly but the words are stuck in his throat where they continue to suffocate him. There is a ringing in his ear.

Seungcheol takes a shaky breath in and he feels Mingyu’s fingers curl around the arm he has held out. Ironically, their roles have reversed.

“You don’t even _know_ him.”

Seungcheol’s eyes flash dangerously at his junior but the boy doesn’t back down. It is a warning, one Hyunbin should take because Seungcheol is _this_ close to snapping. He feels a prickling dancing on his flesh – adrenaline telling him he’s ready.

“Everyone hates him. He’s _dirty_ and he’s a **_fucking sl_** -”

The motion is quick. It snaps like the release of band that’s pulled too tight.

A blur of an arm –

The crackling of contact –

Fist on jaw.

Seungcheol reels back, gripping Mingyu back with an intensity that whites his knuckles as he stares in horror at Joshua – and then Hyunbin, who sits crumpled on the floor, hand on his face in indignation.

The previous calm expression that Joshua was wearing has developed a darkening edge and he smiles at Hyunbin through his teeth as he spits, “ _How dare you_.”

Mingyu’s eyes bulge out their sockets at Joshua as the older guy opens and closes his fist – no doubt shaking off the impact. He snaps his head at Minghao and balks at the unsurprised expression his best friend wears.

Seungcheol’s face is frozen from where he stands stunned and still holding Mingyu. _What the fuck?_ His brain screams.  

“Why do you cheapen his decision like this?” Joshua bites through his teeth, smile – still present but dangerous.

Hyunbin sputters. Words incoherent as he shakes from the impact. Joshua doesn’t seem to be bothered by his incoherence, for he steps forward to get a closer look at Hyunbin. Seungcheol releases Mingyu almost immediately and moves to form a half-barrier between Joshua and the boy.

Facing Joshua, Seungcheol is almost frightened by the intensity he glares at Hyunbin with. It is solid evidence of how much he loves Jeonghan.

“Don’t you dare talk about him,” Hyunbin shouts, voice cracking a little. He’s started to cry, Seungcheol thinks. But he can’t be sure, he’s a bit preoccupied anticipating Joshua’s next move.

“ _You_ ,” Joshua seethes as he points directly at him, “You brought this up.”

Seungcheol places a restraining hand on Joshua’s shoulder and is relieved when he doesn’t push back. He’s fucking confused and unsure of what he should be feeling now. Angry? Fuck yeah - he’s pissed as hell with Hyunbin. But what the fuck is he and Joshua talking about? Seungcheol hesitates and glances at Mingyu, signalling with his face “ _what the fuck is going on_?”

Mingyu’s eyes are wide when he shakes his head. He darts his gaze from Joshua to Minghao and stares incredulously at his best friend.

Minghao doesn’t look at him.  

“How could you do this to him.” Joshua continues, face finally twisting upset and frustrated, “does he know you’re doing this?”

“Why the fuck do you care!” Hyunbin sneers.

Upper lip curling in distaste, Joshua shakes slowly his head at him.

“You’re such a disappointment.” He says finally.

The air in the shed is tight. Mingyu stares at Minghao, silently asking a million of questions he daren’t voice right this second. Seungcheol stands between Hyunbin and Joshua. They feel frozen in place when the shed door swings open.

All five boys turn to look at the pair that’s just burst in.

“ _Seungcheol!_ ”

Seungcheol’s heart sinks immediately at the sound of Jeonghan’s voice. He snaps his head to the blonde, eyes wide and overwhelmed by a sense of guilt. He doesn’t know if it’s misplaced but he feels like a child, caught by their parent. Alarm is not a good look for Jeonghan and Seungcheol hates how he looks so distressed. His beautiful blonde locks look windswept and he pants where he stands. He looks like he ran here.

Behind Jeonghan, there’s a tall guy that looks equally as out of breath.

Jeonghan’s eyes flit from Seungcheol to Joshua and they widen in realization at the sight of his best friend. Jeonghan starts shaking his head in distress. Then he looks to the floor where Hyunbin has fallen and his face crumples.

“ _Jisoo,_ ” Jeonghan begs, face contorted in horror and an upset that Seungcheol never wants to see again. The pair of best friends share a silent conversation with their eyes, one that Joshua doesn’t back down from. Clueless, Seungcheol watches the exchange with a worried expression.

Finally, it is Jeonghan that caves.

“ _Please,_ ” the quiet sob that he whispers breaks Joshua’s heart. “Just leave him alone.”

Joshua hardens his expression and an elongated moment drags past before he exhales sharply and turns away from Hyunbin, moving out of Seungcheol’s hold. Jeonghan releases a breath of momentary relief and then scrambles past Seungcheol to pick Hyunbin up.

The boy flinches at Jeonghan’s touch and shoves at him, causing him to stumble backwards into Seungcheol. The baseball captain feels a surge of anger as he catches Jeonghan immediately, stabilizing him before moving forward in a quick and deadly movement – gripping the front of Hyunbin’s uniform in an iron hold.

“Hyung,” Mingyu gasps warily, stepping forward in an anxious movement. Hyunbin really shouldn’t have done that. The fear that Seungcheol will snap eats away at Mingyu’s control and he starts shaking. Minghao puts a steady hand on Mingyu’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Joshua asks Jeonghan. The blonde nods quickly, obviously uncaring about himself. He’s completely distracted by Seungcheol’s grip on Hyunbin.

“Seungche-” Jeonghan gasps, grabbing the fist that Seungcheol has twisted in Hyunbin’s uniform. He tries to release Seungcheol’s grip but the baseball captain is only seeing red. The boy doesn’t move, defiance painted all over his face. He wears it proudly and stubbornly.  

“Do that again and Joshua won’t be the only person that’s punched you today.” Seungcheol threatens lowly. He gives Hyunbin a good hard shake and releases his uniform before he regrets it himself. Jeonghan exhales a breath and turns to Seungcheol.

“Leave him alone,” Jeonghan insists, “Just let him g-”

“I don’t need you to fucking protect me,” Hyunbin mumbles to himself. Seungcheol stiffens as he catches it. He’s going to **fuck him up**. He’s had enough of Hyunbin’s shit for a day. Seungcheol takes a step forward but Jeonghan presses a firm hand on his chest, holding him back. Had it been someone else, Seungcheol thinks he would have shoved them aside thoughtlessly. He’s not exactly in the right headspace right now but the pleading gaze Jeonghan shoots him cuts through the noise in his head.

The certainty of Jeonghan’s hold on Seungcheol contrasts the broken expression he wears.

“I know,” Jeonghan replies quietly.

Hyunbin wipes his nose with the back of his hand and stands from where he’d fallen. He glares at Mingyu and then sweeps his gaze over the rest.

“Just go,” Jeonghan implores. He doesn’t look Hyunbin in the eye - his head is downcast and his gaze on the floor.

The boy sniffs and turns his head to spit on the floor. It hits the floor with an offensive smack and when Seungcheol looks at it, he sees a bit of blood.

Nobody moves when Hyunbin stalks out, slamming the shed door behind him as he does.

It takes a few minutes but Jeonghan lets out a shaky sigh and runs a hand through his hair. He tilts his chin up to look at Seungcheol. They lock eyes – a silent, metaphorical hand hold that lasts just a few seconds before Jeonghan breaks and sobs.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow we're really close to the end.  
> If you've read this far, thank you, I love you.  
> See you at the end.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my sweet, lovely readers. First of, please accept my humble apology. It is always much more difficult to resolve a problem than it is to start one (even if you’ve already planned the whole thing.) This took much too long to complete but I hope this monster of a chapter will make up for it. 
> 
> This fic is really important to me. The themes I put inside I hold close to my heart. Bullying no matter the reason will always be wrong so while we finish this story I hope we take that away. Needless to say, I am a bit emotional over this finishing. I’ve never ever completed a multi-chapter fic so this feels really surreal. I need to thank yeti for always encouraging me and believing in my storytelling. You have my heart always. 
> 
> Important: Please note that there may be mention of some upsetting themes that include potential sexual assault. I urge everyone to read with caution. Also, the rating on this fic has been changed to E for end smut. 
> 
> That is all — happy resolution!

 

The resounding slam of wood on wood echoes in Seungcheol’s ears.

He inhales a sharp breath through his nose and blinks. The previous explosive flare of anger that he felt begins to ebb away – leaving in its wake an apprehensive sort of uneasiness and confusion. And, when the last of the adrenaline leaves his body, Seungcheol is left feeling weirdly heavy-hearted. 

What just happened?

Jeonghan’s body is twisted away from him and angled towards the shed door when Seungcheol turns to glance at him. From where he stands, Seungcheol cannot see his face but he can hear the way Jeonghan draws a shaky breath through his lips. It is a whisper of a sound and, one that makes his chest ache strangely.

Seungcheol thinks he should say something. Anything. But he cannot find the words.

A lot just happened. A sobering amount of information, whether intentional or not, had just been revealed. Information that had come as a rude shock to Seungcheol.

Jeonghan knows Hyunbin.

Joshua also knows Hyunbin.

Instinctively, Seungcheol flickers a glance at Minghao. The younger guy doesn’t look even a  _little_  surprised. His sombre expression is a stark contrast against Mingyu’s drop of jaw and tense shoulders. Even Seokmin, who Seungcheol is associated with through proxy by Jihoon, has his eyes widened to the point of comic. It suddenly becomes glaringly obvious – they  _all_ know Hyunbin.

Them being - Jeonghan, Joshua and Minghao. Seungcheol takes a moment to note that it is incredibly likely that despite his absence,  _Jun_  is also a part of this.

He brings a hand to his face and holds the slant of his jaw. His fingers press hard against the skin until it hurts. He doesn’t  _understand._ It doesn’t make sense. Why didn’t they just tell him?

They’ve been circling around this topic for weeks. How long have they known? And if they  _knew_ , why didn’t they stop Hyunbin? The frown that Seungcheol has been sustaining has begun to induce a headache and it only makes him frown harder.

Jeonghan lifts his head slowly while Seungcheol sieves through the complicated mess of his thoughts and the motions draws his eyes to the blonde.

“What’s going on?” The words tumble from Seungcheol’s lips in a fluster. Jeonghan fixes his eyes on him with an unreadable expression. The prior slip of vulnerability is no-where to be seen.

The way he had anticipated that, surprises Seungcheol. It makes him wonder how many times he’s seen Jeonghan force himself into a pretence of control. He’s as good as he is quick.. Jeonghan constructs his defences with an ease that only practice and experience can hone.

It breaks Seungcheol’s heart and it interferes with him wanting to ask questions. He fights the multiple, awful outcomes he imagines in his head – the ones where he unintentionally asks something he shouldn’t and the ones where he accidentally pushes Jeonghan past his boundaries. It is a valid concern. The boundary that Jeonghan sets with his indifferent expression seems like a formidable barricade to scale.

Seungcheol waits a few seconds. They drag by slowly and he counts the ticks in his head. Jeonghan doesn’t answer him so he asks – tone careful but resolute, “Why is he doing this?”

His question is as pointed as it appears vague and Jeonghan shifts his weight from one foot to the other. 

“Because of me.” Jeonghan answers quietly. He watches Seungcheol in guarded manner, tilting his head as he does. At a shallow glance, Jeonghan looks perfectly calm – confident, even.

But to Seungcheol, he just looks afraid.

The baseball captain takes a step forward and Jeonghan’s eyes dart quickly to the floor, almost as if he is calculating their physical distance and determining what to do. Jeonghan looks so much like the calico cat Seungcheol had rescued a few months ago – frightened, cautious and defensive. He briefly wonders if Jeonghan will take a step backward.

He doesn’t.

Instead, the blonde lifts his chin and stares at Seungcheol. It is less like a grant of permission and more of a nervous expectation. Seungcheol takes that bit of trust Jeonghan puts in him and holds it close to his heart. It bolsters him. Jeonghan’s perpetual state of disquiet has admittedly, hurt Seungcheol. The blonde’s refusal to let his guard down around Seungcheol saddens him but he pushes the feeling away. That isn’t important now.   

Jeonghan flicks his gaze around Seungcheol’s face. He’s waiting for him to  _say_ something. The way his eyes widen slightly in what looks like fearful anticipation, throws Seungcheol off. Why would Jeonghan  _ever_ be afraid of him? 

He frowns and Jeonghan inhales sharply in response.

“No,” the raven says quickly, shaking his head. His eyebrows slant downwards. That’s not what he meant, he wants to say. He just doesn’t understand why Jeonghan looks so panicked. What is there to be -

The realization that dawns over him makes Seungcheol’s eyes darken.

He takes another step to close the distance between Jeonghan and him. The blonde holds his breath as he does. And then, they are locked in a suspended moment. Seungcheol’s face twists brokenly for a fraction of a second before he drops his voice low, dangerous –  _protective_.

“What does Hyunbin have on you?”

 

* * *

 

Mingyu’s pulsating icon on Wonwoo’s gps tells him he isn’t far. Squinting at it, Wonwoo double checks his location. There were a few reasons why he isn’t well acquainted with the sports complex. One – he didn’t do much of it. Two – it was very baseball team dominated and that in itself was a good enough deterrence.

You might argue that he’s dating one of the team members but Mingyu is different and Wonwoo isn’t even trying to be romantic about it. His boyfriend, all hundred and eighty-six centimetres of him, is and has been thankfully unaware of the kind of toxic Pledis culture that used to dominate the university. The kind of toxic Pledis culture that the baseball team used to  _thrive_  in.

Every pyramid has a peak. The special minority - the privileged. The baseball team was all of that. Most of the boys came from well-off families and word in the halls was that a lot of them donated money to keep Pledis running. Wonwoo cannot say that that is true for sure, but is  _does_ explain why the baseball team seems to be untouchable. Untouchable in the sense of having little to no consequence for their actions.

When Wonwoo was in first year – it was actually his first week _–_  one of the baseball guys thought that it’d be hilarious to throw someone’s bicycle down the fifth floor of the acting building. It wasn’t funny at all. And to be completely honest, it was probably the tip of the bullying iceberg. The guy had very nearly killed someone but he was let off with a ‘stern’ warning and a week of probation.

There was no compensation for the kid who’s probably only mode of transportation to university  _was_  that bike. It wasn’t just that either – the baseball guy got nicknamed ghost rider and was thereafter heralded as some kind of daredevil.

The memory makes Wonwoo harden his jaw.

That was just one of the many reasons why he’s always stayed a good distance away from the baseball team. The entirety of them was just trouble. And not even the fun kind of trouble -  _well_ , not fun for anyone other than the team at least.

Again, you’re probably dying to say ‘ _but_ Wonwoo and Seungcheol are great friends.’

You’re not wrong.

They are.

But a lot has changed since Wonwoo’s first year. The first significant change being the abrupt shift of the baseball team attitude. It happened some time during Wonwoo’s second semester. The usually loud and obnoxious team just… mellowed – falling into an unexpectedly humourless and solemn disposition. It was the only thing everyone was talking about back then but at the time, Wonwoo could honestly care less about the reasons why. He was just thankful no one else seemed to be their target play-thing.

Months later would see him thinking about the phenomenon more than he’d anticipated. The entirety of the episode felt incomplete, much like an abandoned work of fiction with questions left unanswered. Wonwoo entertained the thought that the story was too unpleasant to have its ending revealed. That, or someone was deliberately keeping the last chapter tucked frustratingly out of reach. Either way, it s _omething_ about it just didn’t seem right.

Today, the escalating occurrences with Jeonghan seem to twist his gut in an unsettlingly familiar way. Wonwoo frowns at the absurd thought. Maybe wandering around the sports complex has stifled his ability to reason. The building is after all, saturated with a long-standing past of moronic and ignorant behaviour. Wonwoo narrows his eyes at the building and stops his wandering.

 

* * *

 

Jeonghan’s pulse quickens at Seungcheol’s question and he swallows the lump in his throat. He sees Seungcheol catch the motion with frightening attentiveness. It elicits a nervous laugh from him - one that the baseball captain quickly hones in on.

Seungcheol’s brows draw together in a worried frown and suddenly, Jeonghan feels  _awful._  The raven’s large, expressive doe eyes are fixated on him with concern and his body, is curved towards Jeonghan in a fiercely protective form. Both actions only further tunnel Jeonghan down a self-deprecating train of thought.

He doesn’t deserve any of this.

He doesn’t deserve Seungcheol paying this much attention to him – worrying about and being protective over him, acting like they’re the only two in the shed when really, there is an audience of three others and Joshua. How can Seungcheol be so ignorant towards how  _dishonest_  Jeonghan has been?

Why isn’t he throwing a harrowing amount of questions at Jeonghan? Mingyu looks like he might have a few questions and then some. Why isn’t Seungcheol demanding answers that he deserves? Why won’t he bluster through this and then, leave?

Yeah. 

Jeonghan had expected Seungcheol to walk out on him. 

Perhaps that wasn’t a very fair expectation but Jeonghan has taught himself not to have  _any_ expectation. You can’t be disappointed if you have no expectations.

This here however, is uncharted territory.

 _Seungcheol_  is uncharted territory.

And it scares Jeonghan.

“I-” Jeonghan hesitates. His hands have started shaking at his sides so he clenches them into tight fists – a stubborn refusal to show weakness. He can’t. He  _can’t_ go back there. He buried it and telling Seungcheol would mean unearthing it. 

The patient and quietly supportive way that Seungcheol stares at him is so unexpectedly tender that Jeonghan has to look away. His heart is racing. Pounding like a maddening thing in his chest. Seungcheol is waiting for an answer. He is waiting with an earnest (and misplaced) sense of trust in Jeonghan. It is almost sad as it is hilarious. Had they been in each other’s shoes, Jeonghan would have walked out on himself. He’s done absolutely nothing to be deserving of Seungcheol’s trust.

Nothing at all. 

In fact, he's been flighty, indulgent, secretive and selfish.

Only rubbish things.

And yet, Seungcheol is  _here_.

He’s  _still_ here.

Jeonghan doesn’t know if he’s a complete and utter fool or- He doesn’t know. Seungcheol doesn’t seem to follow any logic or reason, he just chases after his heart. The heart he so blatantly offered to Jeonghan.

Maybe one day Seungcheol will snap out of it. One day he’ll realize what a complete buffoon he’s been to set his sights on Jeonghan. One day he’ll realize exactly how much Jeonghan has withheld from him and how truly undeserving he is of his affection. 

The thought is so immediately upsetting that Jeonghan momentarily forgets the defensive stance he was going for. Gripped by a nauseating jolt of dread, Jeonghan stares at Seungcheol. He looks at how the raven watches him closely – brows furrowed together in concern – and flashes back to every unexpectedly beautiful moment they have shared. 

From the first time that they met in studio c04 to the  _multiple_ times they bumped into each other in the music building to the first time Seungcheol asked him out, shouting his name across the baseball field… 

Jeonghan thinks about their first date and how he hadn’t wanted to go. He thinks about how he tried to put Seungcheol off by being rude about ordering too much and then, playing a potentially life-endangering game. He thinks about how Seungcheol had only looked at him soft and affectionate throughout, how he started to reluctantly enjoy Seungcheol’s company. How the silly baseball captain had fallen  _asleep_ on their first date. 

That was what got to Jeonghan, actually. He had turned to stare at Seungcheol when the raven slipped into an innocent slumber - suspended in a moment of watching the gentle rise and fall of Seungcheol’s chest found himself selfishly wanting  _more_. He wanted to know more about Seungcheol, wanted to spend more time with him, wanted to hear him laugh and make his ears burn red with embarrassment, wanted to know what it felt like to kiss him –

It was frightening.

A gentle, nudging warmth had sneaked its way into Jeonghan’s heart and he did the first thing he knew to do: he extinguished it.

The night ended with him politely thanking Seungcheol for his time and then disappearing into his room before Joshua could ask him about it. He didn’t want to talk about it. The date made him feel things he wasn’t prepared for and so, Jeonghan pushed it away.

But every step backwards that he took was a step forward that Seungcheol takes. It was like a dance – one that made absolutely no sense to Jeonghan. It’s not as if he was giving Seungcheol much to work with but somehow, he managed. Every subsequent meeting with Seungcheol had only made it that much more difficult to maintain his resolve. The baseball captain and his blinding grin be damned.

Jeonghan doesn’t know how he’d ended up being surrounded by that warmth. It crept in through one of the cracks, sparked a flame and then lit itself ablaze. It blanketed him with tenderness and affection – both of which he secretly and preciously cherished.

In a mental struggle of weighing which he feared more, his past or losing Seungcheol, Jeonghan swallows thickly and whispers, “Hyunbin thinks that his brother was expelled because of me.”

 

* * *

 

Mingyu nearly shits himself when his phone starts vibrating and blasting his less-than-appropriate ringtone through the shed. He was completely occupied with straining his ears to hear what Jeonghan and Seungcheol were whispering about.

Next to him, Minghao shoots him an admonishing stare. His best friend’s eyes do this frantic darting about that suggests to Mingyu he would like him to  _pick his phone the fuck up_. Mingyu grimaces and fumbles awkwardly for the device.

It’s Wonwoo.

Mingyu cups a hand around his mouth and curves his body away from the rest. A big part of him is thankful to hear his boyfriend’s voice for it is a salve to his currently, anxious and confused person. But surely, Wonwoo could have not chosen a  _worse_ time.

“Hello?” he loud-whispers and Minghao’s eyebrows fly up to his hairline. Mingyu makes a face at him. He has  **no** right to be looking at Mingyu like that. Especially not after he just found out that Minghao knows Hyunbin!!!

“Hey, I’m outside I think,” Wonwoo’s deep voice crackles over the line. Mingyu opens his mouth to reply but is interrupted when Minghao grabs his arm and starts tugging him out of the shed.

“ _Um,_ can I come with?” the guy who had burst in with Jeonghan, asks. Oh. Mingyu had almost forgotten the guy was with them. He watches Minghao nod quickly, sympathetically. The look he has on his face suggests he wouldn’t want to be left alone in the shed with the three seniors either. 

It had begun to feel a little too intimate for them to be comfortably spectating. It’s not that Seungcheol and Jeonghan were actually  _doing anything._  It just… it just felt like a private moment and Mingyu (despite his curiosity) thinks it better that they leave. 

Jerking his head towards the door, Minghao voices his thoughts perfectly, “Yeah, let’s go." 

They squeeze past Joshua and when Mingyu and the other guy hurry out, Minghao pauses to look at his friends. None of them had seen today’s events coming. Not he, not Joshua and most definitely not Jeonghan. Minghao cannot remember the last time any of them were caught this off-guard.

Joshua turns to share a look with him – a small, strained smile on his lips. Minghao flickers his gaze to where Jeonghan stands with Seungcheol before looking back at Joshua.  _Go,_  Joshua mouths.

Minghao nods respectfully and turns to leave, only stopping once to turn back again.

Wonwoo is already outside talking to the two when Minghao closes the shed door behind him. He notices the subtle but ever-present lace of fingers Mingyu shares with him and Minghao feels a little bit of warmth in his heart. He takes a second to think of Jun but then winces at the expression he imagines Jun to be wearing when he finally tells the older guy what happened here.

“Jeonghan hyung is inside,” Minghao hears Mingyu blurt as he moves towards the three of them.

“What?” Wonwoo’s eyes widen, his sharp features rounding in surprise, “I thought you guys were not getting him involved? Isn’t that what Seungcheol wanted?”

“I- That’s my fault…” the tall guy with the sharp nose that’s been with Mingyu admits. When all three of them turn to look at him, he shrinks back a little.

“Jihoon hyung, um, he asked me to track the photo – the one that,” he flits a nervous look to Mingyu and then to Minghao.

“You’re  _Seokmin._ ” Wonwoo’s shifts from disapproval to genuine surprise.

Seokmin blinks back, also surprised.

“Ah, yeah,” he flushes embarrassed before continuing, “I was with Jeonghan hyung earlier today and I thought he knew that you guys were all planning to talk to Hyunbin… I just – I mentioned it when I was with him, hoping that he would be less worried about it but he just lost it…”

Minghao makes a face equivalent of  _fuck_.

“He just ran all the way here and I followed him because… I… I was worried.” Seokmin finishes, glancing at Minghao’s expression anxiously.

“It’s not your fault,” Minghao comments, “you couldn’t have known.”

“Known what?” Mingyu interrupts suddenly. His handsome face has developed an agitated scowl – it is one Minghao is familiar with.

“What the hell is going on eight? How do  _you_  know Hyunbin?”

Wonwoo raises his eyebrows at Minghao, obviously new to this bit of information. Instead of replying, Minghao drops his gaze to the floor and presses his lips together.

“Did you know this was going to happen?” Mingyu continues to press, voice climbing higher – a direct parallel with his upset.

“I didn’t know that Jeonghan hyung would show up.” Minghao murmurs.

“ **Nobody**  knew that,” Mingyu bites - before muttering a little bitterly, “you should have told me it was Hyunbin.”

_Why didn’t you tell me? You tell me everything. What can’t you not tell me?_

Minghao hears everything else Mingyu wants to say and sighs, “I couldn’t.”

“Why not?” Mingyu’s eyebrows slant downwards, hurt.

“Jeonghan hyung.” Minghao explains without really explaining.

Before Mingyu can continue – probably insist that he can keep a secret - Wonwoo shushes him gently. He knows that isn’t really the point and a part of him sympathizes with Minghao. It is a difficult position to be in. But, it leaves a lot of their questions unanswered. In fact, there are just  _more_ questions to be answered.

Wonwoo finds himself disliking this situation just that little bit more with every passing moment.

He shoots a look of concern to the shed door, Seungcheol on his mind. Then, he turns to Minghao.

“Why did you come if you knew that Jeonghan hyung wouldn’t have wanted it?”

A guilty, humourless laugh escapes Minghao’s lips, “It’s about time Hyunbin face some kind of consequence. Whatever that consequence maybe, whether it be Seungcheol or Joshua hyung.”

Wonwoo quirks an eyebrow in response and Mingyu visibly pales.

“What do you mean?”

“Shua hyung punched Hyunbin.” Seokmin offers nervously.

“I thought Coups hyung was going for it but-” Mingyu’s words cut short as he blanks in recollection.

Wonwoo huffs a disbelieving laugh.

Really, if someone was going to swing a fist, the first culprit he would have suspected was his own boyfriend. And  _then_ , Seungcheol. But probably only to defend Mingyu’s dumb ass. It’s happened before, it can happen again.

“He deserved it,” Minghao shrugs, an unforgiving hardness taking over his face.

“Hyunbin isn’t still, inside is he?” Wonwoo asks suddenly, dread taking root in the base of his spine. God fucking help him if they were  _all_ in there with the guy.

“No,” Mingyu sniffs, “Just coups hyung, Jeonghan hyung and Joshua hyung…”

The questioning glance that Wonwoo flickers at his boyfriend makes him blurt, “I think Jeonghan hyung is telling Seungcheol what happened.”

 

* * *

 

“ **Expelled**?” Seungcheol raises his brows, appalled.

Expulsion in Pledis is extremely rare. Heck, Seungcheol hasn’t never heard of anyone ever being expelled, much less  _know_ someone who has. It is too severe a consequence for the staggering amount of audition levels, exams and interviews attached to an application. Seungcheol doesn’t think the university will willingly dismiss one of its students. Slap a bunch of warnings and probation times on them, sure but expulsion? That is almost inconceivable  _unless_ –

The little shake of Jeonghan’s head cuts his train of thought off.

“He wasn’t expelled,” the blonde clarifies before adding a little quieter, “everyone just thinks he was.”  

Seungcheol makes a puzzled face and Jeonghan presses his lips together, uneasy. Then, for the first time in a long while, the blonde turns to where his best friend is standing a little away from them. Seungcheol follows his gaze to find a resigned expression on Joshua’s face. It is after a moment that he reveals.

“Hyunbin doesn’t know that.”

“Does anyone else know?” Seungcheol’s brows knit together.

“Just us.” Jeonghan mutters.

The three of them fall into a silence. Seungcheol, deep in thought and the other two, observing him carefully. Finally, he turns to Joshua, mouth opening to form a question but is beat to it when Joshua explains, “He dropped out. It was a decision he made for himself.”

“Why didn’t he tell his own brother?”

“I don’t know.” Jeonghan lowers his head and glances away, “I thought he did but – I can’t think of any other reason why Hyunbin is this angry.”

“When did his brother drop out?” 

“Two years ago." 

“Why… why now then?”

The apprehensive but pointed stare Jeonghan shoot him makes Seungcheol fluster. Wonwoo hinted a while back that  _all this_ started because of him but… Seungcheol didn’t want that to be true. Now that the blonde is very obviously, although apologetically, insinuating it with his eyes – Seungcheol’s heart sinks.

“Its not your fault.” Jeonghan says quickly, noting the crestfallen expression the captain adopts.

“Are you sure?” Seungcheol mumbles. He runs a hand down his face, dragging it slowly and miserably.

“ _Yes_ , it’s mine. I should have spoken to Hyunbin earlier.” Jeonghan insists, “I- I didn’t think it would get this bad.”

“Don’t baby him.” Joshua interjects, “He’s old enough to understand what he’s doing. And clearly, he thinks all of this is okay.” The sharpness to Joshua’s voice surprises Seungcheol.

“I’m not babying him.” Jeonghan mutters defensively.

“You are.” His best friend sighs. “Hyunbin printed the picture.”

The immediate drain of colour from Jeonghan’s face upsets Seungcheol and the captain makes a pleading face at Joshua – silently begging that he don’t continue. Seungcheol thought they were going to keep this from Jeonghan. What he doesn’t know can’t hurt him right?

“What?” a barely-there whisper tumbles from the blonde’s lips.

“He scattered copies around the music building. I called the university to get it cleaned up. I don’t know what he’s thinking. Clearly, he isn’t doing much of it.” Joshua hardens his jaw. “He’s not the innocent kid you use to watch play video games anymore, Han.”

Seungcheol glances at Jeonghan in surprise. How well does he know Hyunbin?

The blonde’s forehead is marred with lines of upset and he chews at his bottom lip. “He’s acting out.”

Joshua huffs.

“I can talk to him.” Jeonghan suggests.

“That is a terrible idea.”  

“ _You_  were going to talk to him.” Jeonghan counters.

Seungcheol presses his lips together awkwardly at their exchange. He doesn’t think he’s seen Joshua and Jeonghan ever disagree.

“I don’t trust him.” Joshua shakes his head, firm.

“He won’t hurt me.” Jeonghan mutters.

Joshua’s laugh is empty when he says: “He already has.”

The blonde drops his gaze to the floor.

“And – that won’t be the only thing.” Joshua’s voice drops low, “you’ll have to tell him why – why Hyunwoo left.”

 

* * *

 

The sound of his name lingers in the air.

He’s not heard it in a while and even though Joshua almost whispers it, it still rings loudly in Jeonghan’s ears. It run a jolt of fear down his spine and leaves behind a hollowing emptiness in his chest. They say it gets better with time but Jeonghan thinks someone miscalculated. 

“I know.” The words taste bitter as he says them.

Across him, Joshua looks equal part worried and unconvinced. Jeonghan wants to laugh. He wants to crack a silly comment about something so he can crinkle his nose and throw his head back, feel the relief of a laugh flow through his body. Feel it wash away this sickly feeling twisting in his gut.

Trust Joshua to predict his quickly mounting flight response. 

Jeonghan’s discomfort escalates with Seungcheol’s silence. Since he is facing Joshua, Jeonghan cannot see the baseball captain – he can only feel the weight of his gaze on his back. What is he thinking about? Does he know? Has he figured it out? Maybe Jeonghan can’t do it after all. Maybe he was overestimating himself when he thought he could tell Seungcheol everything. Just the mention of  _his_  name makes Jeonghan sick to his stomach. How will he power through the whole incident?

 

Anxiety rears its ugly head and Jeonghan’s fingers start to tremble. He shoves his hands quickly into his pants pockets and takes a deep breath.

“Just leave it, you don’t have to do it.” Joshua beseeches - his face twisting brokenly at Jeonghan’s obvious distress. “We can just walk away from this. This was a mistake. We don’t have to do this.”

It sounds perfect to Jeonghan. All of it appeals to Jeonghan’s currently anxious person. It’s exactly what he wants to do. He wants to break out of this shed and run all the way back home. He wants to bury his face into his pillow, throw a blanket over himself and never think about this ever again. He wants to have breakfast with Joshua, record his solo with Bumzu, tease Jihoon about being Woozi, break out the karaoke with Seokmin and go shopping with Seungkwan just like normal.

It is so simple.

All Jeonghan needs to do is agree, and walk out of the shed, out of this situation and go back to never speaking about it. He’s done it before, he can do it again.

But –

Why won’t he move – why is he going against his racing pulse and clammy hands – why does he turn slowly towards Seungcheol? 

The look on Seungcheol’s face steals the breath right out of Jeonghan’s lungs.

He may never ever get used to the way Seungcheol looks at him. The way he looks at him with an outpour of tenderness and warmth. It’s in his eyes, it is always in his eyes. The rest of Seungcheol has stilled with anticipation of what will happen next. There’s a tension in his shoulders and a slight clench to his jaw but his eyes –

In his eyes, there is only acceptance and devotion.

And Jeonghan can’t walk away from that.

He can’t walk away from Seungcheol.

So, he turns back to Joshua and inhales a shaky breath. He  _must_ be mad. The thought breaks a crazed smile on his face and Joshua eyes him with careful apprehension.

“No.” Jeonghan breathes. His heart races wildly.

“I need to do it.”

He’s already made the choice once today, he can do it again. Jeonghan can decide to choose to be honest. It is the one thing Seungcheol has been with him and regardless of how ridiculously afraid he is, it is time Jeonghan does the same.

 

* * *

 

Joshua takes a slow inhale of breath.

He stares Jeonghan in astonishment, blinking at the way his best friend kind of  _laughs_  at him. It is less humorous and more disbelievingly breathless but it is a laugh all the same.

A stranger may walk past and call Jeonghan crazy but it is with sudden clarity that Joshua  _understands._  He feels his own mouth twist at the corner in a small smile. His chest feels light and heavy all at the same time.

Joshua knew this day would come. He’s been waiting for it with a hopeful heart.

Two years is a long time. When it first happened, Joshua told Jeonghan that it will be okay. He picked all of the broken pieces up and lifted his best friend. A month later of Jeonghan isolating himself would see Joshua reminding him that it will be okay. Three months then six months and it started to look like Jeonghan had shaken it off.

Joshua miscalculated though, Jeonghan hadn’t shaken it off. Instead, he’d just developed a very good and effective defensive mechanism. It worked through fleeting experiences and very little commitment. It worked through a tightly guarded heart and towering walls of defence. Jeonghan had built his little castle in the sky, far,  _far_ away from people who’d hurt him but also, far from people who would love him.

At some point he’d begun to lose hope that Jeonghan would ever let another person in. 

But then Choi Seungcheol happened.

Joshua turns to look at the baseball captain. Not once has he tried to check out of this situation. He’s had so many outs. So many but Seungcheol came back for Jeonghan every single time. 

Maybe, if he is the one beside Jeonghan, his best friend will finally be able to confront the one thing he’s fought so fiercely to avoid.

“He’s probably…” Joshua says to Jeonghan.

The blonde stiffens and then he nods.

“Yeah.”

 

* * *

 

“I know where Hyunbin is.” Jeonghan’s voice comes steadier than he expects. “I… I need to talk to him.”

“Okay.” Seungcheol says without hesitation. “I will come with you.”

Jeonghan doesn’t know if the feeling in his chest is fear or relief. He hesitates despite having previously decided to go. Ah, it’s fear. He laughs to himself.

“You ever heard of the King’s Room?” He squares his shoulders.

The way Seungcheol’s face twists in a mix of disbelief and horror, tells Jeonghan he knows.

“Unlike most of the rumours in Pledis.” Jeonghan forces another laugh out. He feels like his voice will start to shake if he doesn’t. “That one is true.”

“I’ve never seen it.” The baseball captain says. His deep frown almost seems like permanent now. It makes Jeonghan feel horrible.

He inhales slowly, “you’re about to.”

 

* * *

 

Wonwoo snaps his head to the shed door the second it creaks open.

“Hyung!” Mingyu calls as Seungcheol steps out. The look on the baseball captains face makes Wonwoo uncomfortable. What went on in there?

Seungcheol looks at them and manages a small smile. “I’m going to follow Jeonghan to talk to Hyunbin.” Before they can say anything, and really, Mingyu would like to say something, Seungcheol holds out a hand. “It will be fine.”

For what it’s worth, Wonwoo doesn’t think it sounds fine. He watches Jeonghan trail out after the baseball captain and then — Joshua.

“It’s not far from here.” Jeonghan murmurs. Seungcheol nods.

“Where are you going?” Seokmin asks, unsure. “A-are you okay?”

“Of course,” Jeonghan’s eyes curve into little moons, “don’t worry.” He tries to placate. It’s not very effective but the blonde is already moving away with Seungcheol. 

Wonwoo watches them as they walk away and then he turns to Joshua in a silent question.

The music senior takes a deep breath and exhales. “Don’t worry. It will be okay.” He smiles. “Let’s go back to mine or something. We can wait there.”

 

* * *

 

Their walk is silent.

Jeonghan walks with his head facing forward and Seungcheol follows closely. There is no tension. There is only quiet anticipation. It should make Jeonghan feel a little more comfortable but it doesn’t.

“The rumour about a student getting sent to the ICU is true.” Jeonghan finds himself saying, “I was there when it happened. They were high and they dared someone to pierce his tongue.”

Seungcheol stares at him.

“They missed.” Jeonghan pulls a sickly smile onto his face. “There’s a stain on the couch that never got washed off. You can look at it when we get there.”

He’s rambling now. He knows it but he can’t stop.

The words tumble from his lips as they tremble.

“Also, they were rough with a few girls and one of them got —“ Jeonghan swallows. His eyes are blown wide as he pictures it.

“Okay.” Seungcheol interrupts him softly. Whether it be out of mercy or discomfort, Jeonghan doesn’t know.

“There are pictures.” Jeonghan suddenly confesses. A part of him wants to get this all out the way. It’s a lot. If he just says everything at once, he doesn’t have to say it again. “They’re on the walls. They liked to take pictures.” Jeonghan swallows. “A lot of pictures.”

If Seungcheol has questions, he doesn’t ask them. Does he know what Jeonghan is talking about? Does any of this make sense or is he totally in the dark?

His hands shake so Jeonghan shoves them into his pants pockets. Seungcheol doesn’t say a word and Jeonghan is unreasonably afraid to check what expression he wears. He looks forward and continues walking.

“What else?” He mumbles to himself and rubs his forehead. “They—”

“They’re not here anymore.” Seungcheol’s voice is quiet, gentle but it slices through the frenzied noise in Jeonghan’s head. He can’t tell if it’s a statement or a question but it doesn’t matter. They’re almost there and he feels sick already.

“No. They’re not.” He whispers back. 

“They graduated.” Seungcheol says softly.

“Yes.” Jeonghan confirms.

There’s a moment of silence before Seungcheol next speaks, “You don’t have to be afraid of them anymore.”

Jeonghan stiffens before shaking his head slightly. “I’m not.”

Seungcheol doesn’t say anything else but Jeonghan knows that was one of his worst lies.

 

* * *

 

The room — the King’s Room, is probably one of the best kept secrets in Pledis. Up till just an hour ago, Seungcheol was convinced it was just another rumour. Knowing that it is true feels surreal. Its almost the equivalent of someone telling you the monster under your bed is real. Half of you is frozen in fear and the other half is dying from curiosity.

For something people were not meant to know about, the King’s Room was talked about all the time. Nobody could stop talking about it when Seungcheol first enrolled. It was the first piece of gossip everyone got gifted with when they started their first day.

_There’s a secret room on campus. If you find it you win the game._

_What game?_

_Shhhh —_

Thinking about it now, the rumour was self sustainable. It kept itself hidden while continuously being circulated. How? Every thing anyone ever said about it was only half truth. That shoddy credibility coupled with the sheer number of people actually spreading things around, made it’s secrecy just that much more secure. You couldn’t give one thing too much weight because of how wild it sounded so… you just didn’t take  _any_ of it seriously.

Everyone was just happy to talk about something exciting and unrelated to them. There was no remorse or concern for the protagonists of their tragic stories. The truth is, in the beginning, these rumours made Seungcheol uncomfortable. They made him so uncomfortable at some point he just convinced himself they couldn’t be true. Are you seeing how this works out? It keeps ones sanity. A defence mechanism of sorts. Something to wash yourself clean on the guilt you’d feel for laughing at someone’s misfortune.

Not that Seungcheol even thought any of this was  _real_. Talk of the King’s Room went from the first thing you heard in the day to a ghost of whisper few people were left to remember it. By the time Seungcheol was a second year, barely anyone mentioned it. It just stopped.

He glances at Jeonghan where the blonde walks half a step ahead of him and feels his heart sink. Is  _he_ why it stopped? The unspoken question terrifies Seungcheol. His mind flicks through all the rumours he remembers hearing in panic, which one of them was Jeonghan?

They’re rounding the back of the sports building and Seungcheol finds himself more alert than usual. Jeonghan has started to slow down. He doesn’t drag his feet but he may as well. There’s a reluctance to his person to continue but Seungcheol watches him power on.

“Do you want me to speak to him?” Seungcheol asks suddenly. He can go instead of Jeonghan. He’ll talk to Hyunbin, he can do it calmly. Jeonghan doesn’t need to force himself to do anything. He’ll fix it.

Jeonghan stills for a fraction of a second. And then he turns to Seungcheol with a half smile on his face.

“You won’t even know what to say.”

The discomfort on Seungcheol’s face seems to affect Jeonghan. He wants to tell Jeonghan he doesn’t have to do this. There’s no need to force himself into the place he looks evidently frightened of —

“I wasn’t hurt.” The blonde’s voice is small, meek. “Not physically anyway, if what’s what you’re thinking about. Don’t go there.”

Seungcheol lets go the breath he didn’t know he was holding and feels immediate relief. But then, it leaves as quickly as it comes, replaced by a broken heartedness that comes with knowing Jeonghan  _was_  hurt. Is hurt. Is still hurting.

He opens his mouth to say something but — he doesn’t know what to say so Seungcheol’s face just twists miserable. Jeonghan presses his lips together and reaches for one of Seungcheol’s hands.

Despite the unexpected gesture, the baseball captain grips Jeonghan’s hand firmly.

“I’m fine.” The blonde looks to the floor but he’s looks up at Seungcheol when he says, “you’re here with me.”

His words catch Seungcheol off guard. It takes him a fraction of a second to realise what Jeonghan means and when it hits him, Seungcheol tugs Jeonghan towards him to pull him into a hug. He doesn’t know what to say so he just nods against Jeonghan’s head.

“I don’t like the room.” Jeonghan mumbles against Seungcheol’s shoulder.

“I know.” He says quietly as he rubs the small of the blonde’s back.

“But I —“ Jeonghan pulls back to look at Seungcheol, “I don’t want to hide anything from you.”

Seungcheol brushes a bit of his blonde fringe out of his face. This is it. He’ll never let Jeonghan go. The sheer paramount significance of this one moment is one Seungcheol will always look back on. When Jeonghan lay down his walls.

“Okay.”  

 

* * *

 

The entrance to the King’s Room is at the back of the sports complex. Camouflaged in plain sight, the draws a parallel to the rumours that surround it. The sight of it makes Jeonghan hesitate. He takes an unsure step forward and one backward.

It looks exactly the same as it did the first time Jeonghan saw it. His breath catches in his throat.  

 

* * *

 

_“That’s it?”  Jeonghan raises an unconvinced brow._

_A laugh. “You underestimate it, Jeonghan.”_

_“It’s a metal door at the back of the grimy sport complex. It’s kind of gross.”_

_Another laugh. “Come on baby. I’ll show you.”_

* * *

Jeonghan flicks a gaze at Seungcheol and the baseball captain smiles reassuringly. This is it. He’s broken the first rule: don’t bring anyone here.

_“You know what will happen if you do right?”_

He swallows a lump in his throat. They’re not here anymore, Jeonghan reminds himself. He walks towards the door and feels for the hidden latch near the handle. A few practiced clicks has the small bit of metal flipping open to reveal a key.

Jeonghan stares at it for a moment. A part of him can’t believe it’s still here. Then again, nobody’s been here for ages. He takes the key and turns to look at Seungcheol.

The baseball captain nods and Jeonghan turns back to the door. He inhales once — the key makes a familiar sound when it slides into the keyhole. He exhales when he twists the metal and the door clicks open. 

It is the smell of the room that hits Jeonghan first. Despite being dulled by the inevitable passing of time, the familiar cologne mixed with a lingering scent of smoke invades Jeonghan’s senses. He has to force himself to walk in.

Seungcheol steps inside closely behind him. 

“Welcome to the King’s Room.” Jeonghan whispers.

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol doesn’t have enough time to take in his surroundings. It is too overwhelming. There’s the stench of split alcohol left too long — right off the bat he sees a couch pushed against a wall littered with photographs. Polaroids, developed pictures, printed pictures, you name it. There’s a pool table to the left and a dart board slanting off it’s hook. It looks like a man cave and really, it smells like one. Seungcheol is only just barely adjusting when they hear someone stumble over furniture. He snaps his head to his right to see Hyunbin staring at the both of them, shocked.

“W-what the fuck are you doing here?” The boy stammers out. 

Jeonghan steps forward and Hyunbin shoots a bewildered glare at the blonde. “You broke the—“

“They’re not here anymore.” The blonde interrupts quietly.

“You have no right.” Hyunbin’s voice is hard. “This was  _his_.”

“No. It wasn’t.” Jeonghan frowns. “This room belongs to nobody. None of us should be here anymore. I… I just want to talk.”

“How did you get in?” Hyunbin demands, ignoring the blonde’s non-aggressive tone.

Seungcheol catches Jeonghan slip the key into his pocket and looks back at his junior. Seems like there is more than one key to the room and that Hyunbin doesn’t know of the one in the door. Seungcheol remains quiet throughout. He isn’t here to interfere. He’s here to give Jeonghan emotional support and understand.

“I’m sorry.” The blonde says. There’s a palpable sadness to his words. It makes Seungcheol step forward to press a comforting hand to his back. Hyunbin eyes the gesture with an ugly, displeased twist to his mouth.

“No you’re not.” He spits. “You moved on real quick didn’t you.”

Seungcheol feels weirdly uncomfortable when Hyunbin turns to stare at him. It is both accusing and upset. He stands his ground. Especially when he feels Jeonghan flinch at the words. It sparks a protectiveness within him.

“You’re hell bent on ruining every good thing here. First you fuck around with everyone and then now you bring Seu—“

“There’s nothing good here.” Jeonghan murmurs.

Hyunbin’s eyes widen. He looks offended, baffled even that Jeonghan would say that. 

“How  _dare_ you?!” His voice raises a click higher.

Jeonghan inhales and braces himself. The boy whips his head to Seungcheol and address the captain directly. “Do  _you_  know that he’s done?” He jabs an accusing finger at Jeonghan.

 

* * *

 

With four of them squashed at the back of the cab, Wonwoo is thankful that the ride had been relatively short. They’d just somehow just agreed to follow Joshua back to his place – a part of him feels like they’re intruding. They should have just gone back home and waited for news there. Wonwoo is sure Seungcheol would call him.

"Are you sure it's okay that we wait here?” Wonwoo asks Joshua carefully as they all pour out of his apartment lift.

“Of course,” Joshua makes a face like Wonwoo is being ridiculous. He feels around for his keys and adds, “don’t be silly.”

“Thanks, hyung,” Seokmin sighs with relief from behind, “I don’t think I can wait alone at home.” Joshua smiles and pats his junior on the back affectionately.

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry.” He assures.

“Do you live here with Jeonghan hyung?” Mingyu asks curiously, eyeing the place as they walk down the corridor. It is a pretty nice place.

“Yup, since first year.” Joshua nods, “we’re over there at the en- Jun!”

The group turn in the direction where Joshua is smiling – Jun stands at his apartment’s front door. The handsome boy smiles back at Joshua but blinks in surprise at the sight of the unexpected group. He offers an awkward wave at the rest, only relaxing when he spots Minghao at the back.

“Okay troop,” Joshua moves to unlock his flat before ushering them all inside, “let’s go, let’s go." 

Under very different circumstances, Joshua probably wouldn’t have invited everyone back. Jeonghan was  _very_  precious about their personal space. Of course, Seokmin was no stranger to the flat but then again, Seokmin was special to Jeonghan.

They pour into the living room and Joshua heads for the kitchen to put his radio (his favourite English Channel as always) and the kettle on. He buys some time by taking a little longer than needed to prepare tea – he wonders how best to tell everyone, and if he  _should_. He sighs as he decants some sugar into a separate saucer, Joshua knows Jun will want some. Then, he arranges everything nicely on a tray and carries it back to the living room. 

Everyone’s eyes are on him when he places the tray on the coffee table. Nobody reaches for his very meticulously prepared tea. Straightening his back with a small smile, Joshua sighs again.

“Okay,” he says, defeated. He waves his hand – a physical grant of permission to ask questions.

“Who’s Hyunbin?” Mingyu blurts immediately. The words rush out like as if he’s been desperately trying to keep them in. “I mean I know who he is. He’s my- He’s on the baseball team. But who is he and why does Jeonghan hyung know him?”

“Why did he release all those pictures?” Wonwoo adds as he crumples his face in distaste.

“Are Seungcheol and Jeonghan hyung going to be okay?” Seokmin adds meekly.

Joshua glances at Jun – he hasn’t said anything since they settled into the living room. Both boys stare at each other with an understanding that is lost on everyone else. Jun takes a deep breath and leans forward onto his knees.

“Where do we start?” He asks Joshua.

 

* * *

 

_(2 years ago: Jeonghan and Jun)_

_The cab they’re in pulls up in the driveway and Jun basks in the blatant awe on Jeonghan’s face. He really scored this time. Grinning at the blonde, Jun jerks his head towards the house. “Hyungs first.”_

_“Wen Junhui, who are you?” Jeonghan mock gasps as they clamber out of the vehicle. The blonde puts his hands on his hips and takes the sight of the massive house with wonder in his eyes._

_Jun chuckles into a hand before smirking, “wouldn’t you like to know?"_

_“We’ve climbed up to four stories and a driveway? Honey, you better tell me there’s a pool in the backyard or I’m going home.” Jeonghan’s eyes sparkle as he waves a dramatic hand. Jun flashes his pearly whites._

_“You know, I think there actually is a pool,” he laughs, hand tugging at his ear in habit._

_“NO!” Jeonghan slaps his back with visible glee before a whisper of doubt pulls him back, “Are you sure this is the right house?”_

_“Oh yeah,” He grabs Jeonghan’s hand and starts tugging the blonde towards the party, “trust me."_

_Jeonghan barks a disbelieving laugh, “I trust Shua. You? I’m not sure.”_

_Jun throws a dirty look in his direction but the way Jeonghan smirks at him breaks his composure and he grins back. Making a mildly offended noise, he asks, “Did you tell Shua hyung?”_

_“About this? Are you crazy?” Jeonghan laughs breathlessly as he eyes the massive student party. It looks like something straight out of a movie – but bigger, louder and this one comes with a few topless boys already drunk and wrestling on the front lawn. Perfect._

_“Good.” Jun exhales dramatically, rubbing his chest in small circles. Jeonghan rolls his eyes but he understands._

_The last thing they needed was Joshua telling them what a bad idea this was. That time when the both of them poured into Jeonghan’s flat at 8am, completely wasted and delirious – Josh had been sat at the kitchen counter, cup of tea in hand and one perfectly eyebrow arched. Even though he never commented on it, Jun and Jeonghan decided they heard what he would have said loud and clear._

_It’s not like they were doing anything bad tonight anyway – just crashing a senior house party uninvited. Which wasn’t bad by the way. Fun isn’t bad. Fun is just fun._

_Totally harmless._

_Jun throws a flirtatious look at the mixed group of seniors standing by the door and they raise their plastic cups at him. Liquid sloshes around and Jun ducks away from the mess, tugging Jeonghan with him into the house in a single lithe movement, confident smirk on his lips._

_The music is overwhelming the moment they step in. Jun can feel the bass pulsating through the floor. He looks around and it is a kaleidoscope of colour. Reds, blues and electric green dye the inside of the house and it’s flushed guests – a mash of bodies pressed against each other, moving, dancing._

_It feels like a whole different world._

_“Who’s the guy you met?” Jeonghan shouts into his ear, pressed up against Jun’s back as they manoeuvre through the crowded corridor._

_“I don’t know his name!” Jun yells back with a wild smile. He sees Jeonghan’s eyes widen before the blonde throws his head back to laugh._

_“Is this his house?” Jeonghan grabs someone’s cup of alcohol, winking at them before downing the mystery liquid. He crinkles his nose at the taste before returning the empty plastic to its dumbstruck owner. Next to him, Jun pats the guy’s chest consolingly and pulls Jeonghan away before he can react._

_“No! But he’ll be here,” Jun grins. He leads Jeonghan through the crowd of grinding bodies with the single purpose of finding the good stuff._

_“Holy shit,” Jeonghan breathes when they make it to the kitchen. He eyes the extravagant variety of alcohol and then turns to Jun to drop his jaw. His friend pulls a Cheshire grin and makes a hand gesture that suggests: after you._

_When the blonde spins on his heel and rubs his hands together, Jun chuckles._

_It’s been at about four months since they started at Pledis. Jeonghan was a year older than he but Jun skipped a year – Chinese dancer on a scholarship and all. Jeonghan joked than he couldn’t tell when he first met him and Jun had smacked his shoulder in retaliation._

_Not many people could tell anyway. There was no way to tell that Jun was an extraordinary dancer, capable of silencing an entire crowd with a single look – especially when he was goofing about crawling on the floor trying to imitate a terrapin on the regular. He also spoke perfect Korean and if you overlooked his penchant for the life endangering variety of spicy food, you’d probably miss it too._

_The drink that Jeonghan makes for him tells Jun they’re on the same page. The I’m-going-to-regret-this-tomorrow-but-fuck-it page. At this point the both of them have already bookmarked and dog-eared it to death. Jeonghan was always game for whatever Jun came up with._

_It was unintentional – the way they met was completely coincidental. Jun doesn’t think you can plan on being sat next to a random stranger, at the worst fresher’s party in this history of fresher’s parties. Jun had turned to the striking blonde and said, “my grandma’s 80 th birthday was more exciting than this. I saw a house party on the way here, want to crash it with me?”_

_And that was it._

_When Jeonghan said ‘yes’, Jun knew they were destined to be friends. Call him cheesy or whatever, but fate was real to Jun. He’s never said it out loud though, he’s only teased that they get along so well because they were the top two visuals in the batch. When Jeonghan cocked an eyebrow asking who was number 1, Jun sniffed and said he._

_The liquid burns when it slides down Jun’s throat and he makes a face. Jeonghan downs his own cup in an impressive, single shot and Jun low whistles._

_“You good or you want more?” Jeonghan turns back to the table, hands making quick work of a bespoke cocktail, “how drunk do you want to be when you meet this guy?”_

_“Very,” Jun decides._

_Thankfully, it doesn’t take him very long to get there. Jun has their pre-drinks to thank for that when he stumbles out of the kitchen, Jeonghan’s arm firmly at his waist as they move to where the crowd is. The party was only just getting started._

_Someone whistles at Jun and he offers them a smirk in return. His brain is getting that perfect foggy haze – where everyone looks good and he feels amazing. There’s a commotion in one of the rooms and Jeonghan flicks a question at Jun with his eyebrows and the younger boy nods quickly. Grinning and determined, Jeonghan squeezes them both through the wall of bodies to peek at what has the party so wild up. When they break through the last barrier of people, Jeonghan and Jun stumble out into the clear and everyone immediately turns to them._

_Despite all the attention in the room shifted onto them, Jeonghan and Jun pay zero mind to them. They’re too busy reeling from the sight of the guy sat in the middle of the room, smiling at them._

_“Shua.” Jeonghan breathes incredulously._

_His best friend flickers his gaze up at the pair and the corner of his mouth curves up slightly. “Took you long enough.”_

 

* * *

 

“I was there.” Joshua admits with a small shrug. Seokmin drops his jaw but closes his mouth immediately, moving a hand to cover his face. Wonwoo raises his eye brows and Mingyu balks at Joshua.

“He wasn’t just  _there_ ,” Jun holds a pointed finger up. A small reminiscent smile breaks on his face, “he was  _gambling_ with a bunch of seniors.”

“There was no money involved,” Joshua defends quickly, before he adds, “just clothes.”

Mingyu slams a hand on the coffee table and turns to look at Wonwoo, eyes about to fall out of his face. His boyfriend covers his face with a hand, pushing him back down, ignoring Mingyu’s muffled protests. Then Wonwoo turns to look at Jun and Joshua, clearing his throat, “please continue.”

 

* * *

 

_Joshua looks up from his cards to see his best friend and Jun staring at him, gobsmacked. He wonders if they’re gobsmacked at being caught at the party or gobsmacked that he’s sitting, fully clothed in the middle of multiple seniors in various stages of undress. Either way, he’s extremely entertained._

_“Are you just going to stand there or—?,” he says coolly. Joshua glances up at the senior he’s playing with and drops his cards to the table. An explosion of hollering and screaming erupts and Joshua locks eyes with Jeonghan in the midst of the chaos. The blonde has the corner of his mouth quirked up in an impressed smirk and a dangerous gleam in his eye. Both of which, Joshua basks in._

_“Shua hyung,” Jun whistles as his catastrophically handsome face settles into a disbelieving grin. Jeonghan starts shaking his head and untangling his arm from where it was around Jun._

_“Play me,” the blonde challenges._

 

* * *

 

"I can't listen to this,” Seokmin covers both his ears. He shaking his head at Joshua like  _nope hyung nope._

“We were different people back then.” Joshua shrugs. 

“Skip this part,” Minghao suggests calmly.

“ _No,”_ Mingyu protests, throwing a pleading hand out, “don’t skip anything!”

Joshua shares an amused look with Jun but it isn’t enough to lift the already dampened mood of the room. They were merely buying time.

“This…” Wonwoo tilts his head, “is linked to Hyunbin… right?”

“Yeah.” Jun drops his gaze to the floor again, his playful edge lost.

“Jeonghan met him at the party.” Joshua says.

“Hyunbin?” Mingyu frowns, confused, “but he’s so many years younger?”

“No,” Joshua smiles sadly, “He met  _Hyunwoo_ , Hyunbin’s older brother there.”  

 

* * *

 

 

Seungcheol doesn’t move. He recognizes instigation when he sees it so he refuses to respond. Hyunbin throws his head back dramatically and holds his stomach as he huffs out a disbelieving laugh. Seungcheol’s frown deepens as he pushes Jeonghan a step back in response. Seeing Hyunbin like this disturbs him, he doesn’t recognize him at all.

“ _No_?” Hyunbin is unrelenting and he taunts, “Didn’t tell you how he ruined someone’s life?”

Seungcheol stares at the boy, unmoving. This must be what Jeonghan told his earlier, about his brother’s expulsion/dropping out. Reading the captain’s silence wrong, Hyunbin laughs wildly. 

“Of course, he didn’t. He’s too busy playing the vulnerable  _angel,_ isn’t that right Jeonghan hyung?” The boy throws glare at Jeonghan before turning back to the captain, “that picture is  _nothing_. It’s just a fucking picture, so what! You don’t know the whole story.”

“That is enough,” Seungcheol warns dangerously.

“Let him,” Jeonghan interrupts. He moves out from behind Seungcheol despite the look of concern the captain flicks at him. He shakes his head at Seungcheol.  _It’s fine._

Hyunbin scoffs. The sound is mocking and it offends Seungcheol. He bristles where he stands but presses his lips together, unwilling to retaliate. They’re not here to fight.

“There he goes!” The boy claps. The sound is sharp and it adds to the tension brewing in the room. “Look at him go coups hyung! What a show. Jeonghan hyung aren’t you just  _perfect_.”

Seungcheol exhales slowly from his nostrils, closing his eyes for a brief second to collect himself. He can feel his anger rising at Hyunbin.

“He is so good at this.” Hyunbin nods with a mad grin, “pretending to be sweet and everything just so he can fuck you up after. Watch out coups hyung he’s already got you.”

“ **Stop it**.” Jeonghan snaps, unexpectedly sharp and berating. Hyunbin’s eyes widen a fraction, much like when a child gets scolded. The exchange surprises Seungcheol. He turns to glance at Jeonghan only to see his agitated clench of jaw. It makes Seungcheol straighten his back in response. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Jeonghan  _angry._  Seungcheol’s seen him annoyed, sure. But angry?

Jeonghan’s anger is quiet affair, like water on the brink of boiling but yet, not quite. It is as surprising as it is…  _expected._  The entirety of Jeonghan was a constant push and pull – never revealing too much but always leaving enough to entice. It is delicate dance of control – one that has just faltered.

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Hyunbin flings a hand out at Jeonghan aggressively. Seungcheol sucks a sharp breath in.

Jeonghan doesn’t react to it but his gaze turns hard as the boy continues, “you can’t just come in  **here**  and you can’t – you can’t-”

“Coups hyung,” Hyunbin says, suddenly frantic, “you can’t date him. Okay? You just can’t. He- He’s-”

“Does he know you’re doing this?” Jeonghan interrupts..

The hesitant hitch of breath that Hyunbin takes makes Seungcheol think that whoever who’s supposed to know, doesn’t.

“What the  **fuck** ,” Hyunbin spits, eyes darting with uncertainty to Seungcheol.

“Hyunwoo.” Jeonghan continues, “I’m talking about  _Hyunwoo_. Does he know you’re doing this?”

“Don’t fucking talk about him.” Hyunbin sputters, taken aback at how direct Jeonghan is being. “You don’t get to talk about him anymore.”

 

* * *

 

“Hyun- _who_?” Mingyu squints at Joshua. His face, a visual representation of a question mark. 

“Hyun _woo._ ” Minghao repeats, clicking his tongue at his best friend.

“Who’s that?” Seokmin whispers.

Wonwoo frowns for a second before his eyes widen and he whispers, “he was the baseball captain.”

“Huh?” Mingyu turns to his boyfriend.

Joshua turns to Wonwoo. “You know him?" 

“No, I don’t.” Wonwoo shakes his head, “or – that’s all I know. Soonyoung told me.”

“Kwon Soonyoung?” Minghao raises his eyebrows, “like, second year dance major Kwon Soonyoung?”

“I’m confused.” Seokmin says meekly, “how do you all know Soonyoung hyung?”

“You know him?” Wonwoo blinks back at Minghao and then to Seokmin, “he’s my best friend.”

“We’re in his dance team.” Minghao supplies before looking at Seokmin expectantly. 

“I- we’re in a team together.” Seokmin replies, eyes wide.

“A dance team?” Minghao raises his eyebrows.

“A… A party team?” Seokmin lifts his shoulders uncertainty. Minghao tilts his head at Seokmin, confused.

“How does Soonyoung know Hyunwoo?” Joshua cuts in.

“He doesn’t.” Wonwoo shakes his head, “I think one of his friends knew somebody who’d graduated but was on the team.”

Jun sinks into the sofa and lets out a sigh, “ _Pledis._ ”

“Are they related?” Mingyu shouts suddenly, like as if he’d just discovered vital information that everyone must immediately hear. Wonwoo makes a disappointed face at his boyfriend and pats his knee reassuringly. The group fall into an understanding silence. The tea that Joshua had made has turned cold and the cups sit where they are, untouched.

“Yes.” Jun says after a moment. 

“Okay, what does Hyunwoo have to do with Jeonghan?” Wonwoo turns to Joshua to ask.

“They were in love.” The older guy smiles sadly.

 

* * *

 

_Jeonghan bites his lip as he glances at his cards. On his right, Jun lounges lazily beside him. The crowd waits with anticipation as Joshua reaches for his drink._

_They are three first years stealing the spotlight at a senior party. Everything about it sends a rush of adrenaline through Jeonghan. He loves it. He whispers something to Jun and his friend laughs, throwing his handsome face back._

_Everyone’s eyes are on them._

_Everyone including the senior standing slightly behind Joshua. He’s been staring at Jeonghan ever since the blonde took a seat to play. Jeonghan knows. The seniors attention makes Jeonghan pull out his charms. He’s cute and Jeonghan is interested._

_The game ends quickly with both Jeonghan and Joshua in a tie. They remain frustratingly clothed, much to the disappointment of the crowd. Jun chuckles. The game invites new players in and Jeonghan stands. He’s feeling another drink. His body buzzes pleasantly but he wants to feel scorching hot._

_“Nice game.” A voice says close to his ear as Jeonghan moves to leave. He feels a hand skirt his waist and he turns on his heel._

_A sly smile breaks on his face. It’s the senior from before. “Thank you.” Jeonghan purrs._

_“I’ve never seen you before.” The senior pulls Jeonghan closer. “You must be a first year.”_

_Jeonghan presses a hand to his chest and makes a non-committal noise. He sees Jun just across the room, cocking an interested brow at him. Jeonghan grins back and signals with his eyes to leave him alone. Jun mouths naughty at him and Jeonghan giggles._

_“How did you get in?” The senior murmurs close to his ear._

_“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Jeonghan flirts, holding the senior at a distance he controls. Not too close but not too far — just how he likes it._

_The senior laughs and turns Jeonghan out of the way as some people push past. “I would.” He grins. “It is my house after all.”_

_Jeonghan mock gasps behind his hand. Oops._

_“I’m not in trouble am I?” He blinks back innocently._

_“Oh yeah,” the senior jerks Jeonghan towards him. “You are.”_

 

* * *

 

Jeonghan takes a deep breath.

“I didn’t get him expelled.”

Hyunbin scoffs.. “Of course you would say that.”

“It was his decision.” Jeonghan continues. His voice is levelled now. Seungcheol watches Hyunbin carefully.

The boy is really red-faced. He is glaring at Jeonghan, incredulous — “You’re  **so**  good at this Jeonghan hyung!!” The boy laughs with disbelief. “You’ve always been good at this!!! I don’t believe you!!!! Why would Hyung do that?!? You’re crazy if you think I’m going to believe you. You always do this, you  **always**  do this. Hyung told me — he told me —“

“What did he tell you?” Jeonghan asks quietly.

Hyunbin clasps his mouth shut. In his fluster, Seungcheol cannot help but feel like looks like a cornered animal. He too has questions. He has about a thousand. Jeonghan’s relationship with this Hyunwoo sounds more intimate than he thought. It makes Seungcheol wonder what Hyunwoo did to the blonde. What he did to hurt him. Just thinking about it breaks Seungcheol’s heart.

“Did he tell you anything?” Jeonghan’s voice is soft.

Hyunbin sputters. “Stop trying to turn me against him. You’re always getting in-between people and ruining things!!!!”

“I’ll tell you what happened.” Jeonghan says quietly. “I always thought Hyunwoo already told you… but now I see he hasn’t.” He looks up to stare directly at Hyunbin.

“I’ll tell you.”

 

* * *

 

“It was immediate.” Joshua laughs a little at the memory. “They were obsessed with each other. Jeonghan and Hyunwoo were inseparable.”

Mingyu chews at his bottom lip uncomfortable. For some reason just hearing about Jeonghan with someone other than Seungcheol just feels  _wrong._ Mingyu doesn’t like it. It makes him shift in his seat.

“They spent almost every hour they had free with each other.” Jun nods, “it was pretty intense.” 

“So naturally, we spent a lot of time with the baseball team. Hyunwoo was the captain after all.” Joshua shrugs before dropping his gaze down to the floor. “We were invited to all their parties, though by proxy.”

“They were pretty serious. At least that’s what I believed. I know Jeonghan…. Jeonghan really liked him. Genuinely. I’ve never seen him pour so much into a person.” He continues. “But Pledis is a complicated place and the baseball team back then were even more complicated.” 

Jun runs a hand down his face as he leans forward on his knees. “Most of it was bullying. Every day, day to day, whatever they felt like. It was never directed at us because Hyunwoo kept Jeonghan safely away.”

“Neither of us thought any of would ever come to us. Perhaps that was foolish or us. To trust the captain that allowed his team to wreck havoc in Pledis according to their whims. I just… I just always thought he’d protect Jeonghan.”

“He tried his best.” Joshua hardens his jaw, “but it wasn’t good enough.”

 

* * *

 

“The picture you printed.” Jeonghan begins despite the sickening twist to his gut. He looks up at Hyunbin. “That’s your brother with me in the picture." 

His hands start shaking the moment the words leave his mouth. Seungcheol is standing beside him but he daren’t look at the captain. He’s never wanted to hurt Seungcheol. He’d rather hurt himself than hurt him but — it is the truth and it’s time it come out. Jeonghan is scared though. Seungcheol walked into this not knowing anything other than the fact that Jeonghan and Hyunbin’s older brother had a complicated history. He didn’t know that they had a romantic history.

Jeonghan feels himself start to panic. What is this makes Seungcheol walk out? Maybe he doesn’t want to hear this. It’s ugly. Maybe Seungcheol will—

His thoughts come to a complete and quiet stop when he feels a warm hand slide into his. Jeonghan turns to Seungcheol, eyes wide. The baseball captain doesn’t say anything. All he does is give Jeonghan’s hand a little comforting squeeze as if to say  _it’s okay. I’m here._

It makes Jeonghan feel like crying. His eyes sting and his nose starts to block but he forces himself to continue. The warmth of Seungcheol’s hand encourages him.

“You’re lying.” Hyunbin spits.

Jeonghan frowns. “I’m not. That’s Hyunwoo.” He hesitates. “And… he allowed the picture to be taken.” Repeating it makes it real. Every time Jeonghan says it out loud, he feels the hollowing emptiness in his chest. That’s why he’s tried to avoid talking about this. Every time he says it he’s reminded that the person he once loved so much, hurt him just as much.

Seungcheol rubs his thumb over Jeonghan’s hand — pulling him out of his thoughts. 

“No.” Hyunbin’s voice shakes. “ _No._ Hyung would never.”

Jeonghan laughs humourlessly. “That’s what I told myself too.”

 

* * *

 

_“Let’s get out of here.” Hyunwoo whispers against Jeonghan’s cheek. The blonde laughs and leans away. It tickles._

_“Why?” Jeonghan pouts. He’s having fun. He wants to play beer pong. He glances at the guys and is surprised to see them all looking at them. Joshua cocks a brow at him and Jeonghan shrugs._

_“Come on baby.” Hyunwoo swallows, tugging the blonde away. Jeonghan lets himself be pulled away._

_“What’s wrong?” He asks as Hyunwoo rushes them up the stairs. Jeonghan laughs as his boyfriend starts to undo his shirt._

_“Aren’t you going to take me to dinner first?” He jokes._

_Hyunwoo grabs his waist. “I’ve been thinking about you all night. I can’t wait anymore.”_

* * *

“I watched them go up.” Joshua presses a hand over his mouth.

A heavy sense of dread overcomes the living room where they’re all sat. Seokmin lowers his head, face uncomfortable. Mingyu is staring at Joshua, unable to look away.

“I didn’t think anything was wrong.” Joshua shakes his head, “it happened all the time. They were a couple after all. But… maybe I should have been more vigilant. The guys were acting weird.”

“It’s not your fault.” Jun murmurs.

Joshua presses his lips together sadly but he continues. “By the time I realized it already happened and the party was a mess.”

 

* * *

 

_Jeonghan closes his eyes._

_A groan at the tip of his lips._

_“Hyunwoo—“_

_His body tenses suddenly when the bedroom door flings open. It happens so quickly Jeonghan doesn’t have time to react. He hears cameras clicking and his blood runs cold._  

_“What the fuck!” He gasps. He pulls himself off Hyunwoo with a grimace and gapes at the audience staring at them._

_They are laughing. All of them are laughing._

_Jeonghan doesn’t understand. He looks down to where Hyunwoo is lying but his boyfriend cannot look him in the eye._

_“What’s happening?” He whispers, eyes never leaving the guys. They’re clapping and wolf whistling._

_“We wanted to see the prince in all his glory.” Someone laughs._

_“You’re hot as fuck!!!”_

_“No wonder you’ve got the captain by his balls”_

_Jeonghan swallows, uncomprehending._

_“With the King’s permission of course.”_

_“Jeonghan!” A familiar voice yells through the chaos. Jeonghan just barely manages to look at Joshua pushing through everyone to reach him._

_With… p-permission?_

_“Come on.” Joshua says urgently as he pulls Jeonghan off the bed. He feels his best friend wrap a jacket around him and then he’s being shoved out of the room past a house full of drunk and high students out the door — into a cab._

* * *

“It was a test.” Jun breaks the horrified silence that’s befallen. “And Hyunwoo for all he cared about Jeonghan, wasn’t strong enough to go against pack mentality.” He laughs bitterly. “Fuck the baseball team.”

“Don’t get me wrong when I say Hyunwoo really loved Jeonghan.” Joshua bites through his teeth. “He did. But, he loved being validated more. He couldn’t stand to disappoint or not live up to the expectations of others. Even if those expectations meant he put Jeonghan at risk for a moment.”

Wonwoo shakes his head. This is fucking insane.

“Hyunwoo let the guys take pictures of them while they were —“

God, he can’t even continue.

Joshua doesn’t nod. He just stares at Wonwoo. It is answer enough.

“That’s fucked up.” Mingyu seethes, “that’s so fucked up!!!" 

“They’re not finished.” Minghao mutters quietly, causing his best friend to whip his head at him in shock.

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol is shaking.

He can’t believe what he just heard. There’s a ringing in his ears as he stares at Jeonghan. The blonde stands with his shoulders squared and chin slightly tilted up. He stands so strongly it crushes Seungcheol. Never in a million years would he have expected the picture to come from such an act of betrayal. One that Jeonghan is bravely narrating through his anxiety. 

“No.” Hyunbin shakes his head. Denial has started to overtake him, Seungcheol can see it. A part of him feels almost bad that Hyunbin has to bear what his older brother was really like but the other part of Seungcheol, the one he’s holding with tight reins, wants to beat the fucking shit out of both brothers.

“Hyung loved you.” Hyunbin starts to sniff, “he told me all the time. He told me almost every day.” 

Jeonghan brings a hand to his mouth and exhales a shaky breath. “I know.” He says. “But what’s done is done. I’m sorry he didn’t tell you.”

“…is that why he was expelled?” Hyunbin chokes out.

Jeonghan’s face softens. Seungcheol cannot comprehend. Neither brothers  _deserve_  his empathy. Seungcheol is this close to losing his — the gentle squeeze that Jeonghan presses against his hands where they’re laced together jolts Seungcheol out of his fury. 

“No.” The blonde shakes his head, “I told you. He dropped out.”

“But why?”

Jeonghan swallows thickly and for a moment, Seungcheol thinks he sees him pale. The protectiveness within him surges but Jeonghan continues. “After… that party. The pictures were circulated. Around the team, then with friends of the team… and then the whole school… the only person recognisable in there is me so Hyunwoo was miserable.”

 

* * *

 

_“Please Jeonghan.” Hyunwoo begs. “Just tell me what to do to fix it.”_

_Jeonghan blinks at him blankly. Every inch of him feels numb. He didn’t even want to see Hyunwoo ever again but the senior found him. Jeonghan can’t even look at him. Every time he tries to raise his gaze he feels an excruciating twist in his gut that makes him want to puke. Is this what heartbreak feels like or is it jus betrayal. Jeonghan doesn’t know. Does it matter?_

_He doesn’t want to be here. He feels trapped. He wants to leave._

_“Jeonghan.”_

_“You can’t fix it.” He finally says, voice dead and flat. “Everyone already knows.”_

_“What can I do?” Hyunwoo pleads, he moves forward but Jeonghan takes a step back._

_“Don’t — don’t come near me.” Jeonghan forces out._

_He doesn’t dare look at Hyunwoo’s reaction. The senior has frozen where he stands. Jeonghan stares at the ground._

_“I’m sorry.”_

* * *

“After the picture was circulated. People started targeting Jeonghan.” Joshua has to spit the words out. They make him sick. He flashes back to all the times someone groped Jeonghan in public and he feels his anger return in dangerous waves.

All of it started because of Hyunwoo. Because he couldn’t stand his ground against something he knew wasn’t right. Him being the captain — the King — just made it all that worse.

Monkey see, monkey do. 

“It was basically sexual harassment. A lot of it was shouted in the halls and people wolf whistled at him. Some asked how much he was for a night.”

Wonwoo drops his face into his hands and inhales. “I can’t listen to this.”

“Neither can I.” Joshua almost laughs.

“Did anything happen?” Seokmin asks. Joshua turns to his junior and makes a face. He feels so sorry that Seokmin has to hear any of this. He knows how much he loves Jeonghan.

“Yes.” Joshua inhales.

Wonwoo looks up in horror and a silence falls upon the room. Joshua has to remind himself it’s over because his heart picks up pace at the memory.

 

* * *

 

_“Han?” Joshua peers into the recording studio only to see it empty. He frowns. Jeonghan has texted him that he’d be here for the next few hours._

_He lets himself in anyway and dumps his bag on the floor. Joshua is about to sit down when he sees Jeonghan’s phone on the studio table. He frowns again._

_Jeonghan never leaves his phone unattended._

_A sudden feeling of dread overwhelms Joshua. He turns on his heel and runs out the room._

_“Jeonghan!” He yells down the hall. It’s past usual hours and the studios are a deathly quiet. His pulse races with panic as he slams open all the studios one by one — shouting for his best friend._

_Please._

_Please fucking tell me you just went to the toilet. Joshua begs as he shoves himself against another studio. He slams his face against it as it remains shut. It’s locked. Joshua’s blood runs cold._

_“JEONGHAN.” He screams, “OPEN THE DOOR.”_  

_“— ua” the tiniest of voice replies before it is muffled._

_Joshua feels every part of his body tense. He fumbles at the digital key and presses the master code Jeonghan taught him. Fuck!!! Fuck fuck fuck fuck!!!!! FUCK!!!!_

_The door beeps open and Joshua flings it open. He frantically looks around the room and when he sees them — his body moves before he can think._

_The only thing that registers in Joshua’s mind is the sharp, unforgiving pain that spears his knuckles when he punches the guy off his best friend._

_“You fucking piece of **shit.”** He yells, grabbing the guy by the collar and punching him again. The guy whimpers and stumbles back._

_“What the fuck!” He groans._

_Joshua is heaving. The air doesn’t come as quickly to his lungs as he’d link. He reaches for his best friend, grabbing Jeonghan off the floor and dragging him out of the room. The tiniest part of him is relieved Jeonghan is clothed. Joshua’s hands work quickly. He locks the door and then jams the digital key._

_“S-shua, your hands…”  Jeonghan mumbles, trying to reach for Joshua’s bloodied knuckles. Ah fuck._

_“I’m fine.” Joshua says quickly, grabbing Jeonghan and hugging him. The blonde is placid against his embrace and Joshua’s fingers shake as he dials Jun._

_“Jun— I need you to come to the music building and I need you to call the university.”_

* * *

 

“Joshua got him expelled.” Jeonghan’s voice shakes now. “That senior that was — um — I,” He clears his throat. 

Seungcheol can’t stay still anymore. He releases their hand hold to pull Jeonghan firmly against him — arm around his shoulder. The blonde turns to smile at him and it blows Seungcheol’s mind. That he can smile through this.

Hyunbin stares at Jeonghan with an expression Seungcheol cannot read. “ _H_ - _hyung_.”

“I’m okay!” Jeonghan smiles. It’s one of this stunning ones. His eyes curve into little moons and he looks like an angel descended from heaven. It seems to break Hyunbin’s heart as much as it breaks Seungcheol. 

“Um…” the blonde licks his lips as he continues, “That’s… that’s where the cursed prince rumour comes from.” He dares to laugh a little. “If you get involved with Yoon Jeonghan… well.” Jeonghan shrugs.

Words don’t come to Hyunbin. He just continues to stare at Jeonghan, eyes wide.

“That made…. Um… that made a lot of people angry. Min-ho was very well liked on the team and that made me very…  _unliked.”_   Jeonghan exhales. “So it got worse for a bit.”

 

* * *

 

_“Jeonghan—“ Hyunwoo stares at his arm._

_At the senior’s scrutiny, Jeonghan moves his hand behind his back._

_“I— “  Hyunwoo’s face twists remorsefully. “I can’t do this anymore.”_  

_Jeonghan blinks at him. His face is expressionless but his heart is racing. Just being around Hyunwoo makes him anxious. His gut churns and he feels himself break into a sweat._

_“I’ll fix it.” Hyunwoo says, “this is my fault. I never wanted this to happen. I am so— I am so sorry. I can’t ever apologise enough. There is nothing I can do to take it back… I know that. But I will fix it.”_

_Jeonghan doesn’t respond. He can see Joshua watching them both carefully, ready to run over at any second. Jeonghan holds on to that with dear life. He thinks if Joshua wasn’t standing there, he’d have broken by now._

_“ I’m going to drop out.” Hyunwoo says. “I have a plan. I’ll fix it. Nobody will touch you again.”_

_Jeonghan stares at a flock of dust on the senior’s shirt. It looks like lint._

_“I— thank you for hearing me out. I won’t disrespect you by saying I love you — I guess I just did. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Hyunwoo mumbles. He takes one last look at Jeonghan and then he leaves._

_It is only when Hyunwoo is out of sight that Jeonghan drops onto his haunches and buries his face in his hands. He feels the comforting arms of Joshua wrap around him as he cries._

_“It’s okay.” Joshua murmurs against his forehead, “its okay.”_

* * *

“Hyung dropped out to protect you.” Hyunbin whispers in realisation.

Jeonghan chews at his bottom lip. “I’m sorry he didn’t tell you.” 

“I thought— I thought you….” The boy stammers.

“It’s okay.” Jeonghan shakes his head. “It’s fine.”

“I’m…” Hyunbin chokes as he takes a half step forward. “I’m so sorry hyung I—“

Jeonghan pulls himself away from Seungcheol embrace and moves forward quickly to catch Hyunbin. “It’s okay,” the blonde whispers softly. “It’s okay, you didn’t know.”

“I thought that you—“ Hyunbin’s voice breaks.

Seungcheol watches in stunned silence as Jeonghan wraps his arms around Hyunbin, rubbing small comforting circles on the boy’s back. What? How?

“I was really angry with you — I thought you left hyung and had him expelled and he’s — he’s just not the same anymore. I thought it was all your fault —“ Hyunbin starts sobbing. It is a small broken sound as Jeonghan shushes him gently. 

“It’s okay,” the blonde shakes his head.

“I was so h-horrible to you. I was the worst – how can you still—“

Jeonghan pulls back for a bit and holds either side of Hyunbin’s snotty face. “What do you mean? We haven’t finished that last race on Mario Kart.” The blonde gasps as he gently wipes away the hot tears streaming down the boy’s face. “Are you chickening out of our race?”

Hyunbin stares at Jeonghan stunned.

Then he stammers, “n-no.” 

“Good.”

 

* * *

 

“The baseball team stopped their bullshit.” Wonwoo breathes, “because of Hyunwoo?”

Jun shrugs. “We don’t know. That’s what it looks like. Either he spoke to all of them or his ‘expulsion’ hit a dangerous nerve and people started to get scared.” 

The living room falls into silence again.

It is a long while after that Joshua says, “Jeonghan has always treated Hyunbin like his little brother. Before everything happened, he, Hyunwoo and Hyunbin were all inseparable. After what happened, things just can’t go back to the way they were before.”

Wonwoo nods slowly.

“Jeonghan could never talk about this. I don’t think he’s ever talked about this. Even with me, it’s hard for him.” Joshua says quietly before looking up with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, “but then — Seungcheol happened.”

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol watches as Jeonghan and Hyunbin speak softly together. He’s still reeling from all the information that’s been thrown at him. He’s just about to revisit the whole thing when suddenly, Jeonghan turns to look at him.

The blonde smiles at him.

It’s not one of the forced ones that Seungcheol has become so accustomed to spotting. It is genuine and it overwhelms.

That’s when Seungcheol realises — none of it matters. What matters is here, Jeonghan. Now. He doesn’t care about what happened before, it doesn’t change his feelings towards Jeonghan. If anything his feels have only intensified. It burns a raging fire ablaze and Seungcheol doesn’t think it will ever extinguish.

Never in his life has he ever met someone with a heart so big and so forgiving like Jeonghan. Just watching the blonde laugh with Hyunbin baffles Seungcheol.

How can anyone  _ever_ want to hurt him? How can someone look at Jeonghan and not feel immediately compelled to pour all of his love onto him?

That’s what Seungcheol is going to do. That’s what he’s going to spend the rest of his foreseeable future doing. Loving Jeonghan. Loving him until he isn’t afraid to love anymore.

 

* * *

 

The sound of Joshua’s phone ringing steals everyone’s attention.

“Is that coups hyung?” Mingyu gasps, leaning over the coffee table and nearly toppling the cups. Seokmin catches them quickly with a panicked look in his eyes.

Joshua holds a finger up as he picks up the call.

“Hey.”

“Yeah. — No don’t worry about us. —yeah of course. Go ahead. Yeah. — mmm okay. See you.”

“Are they coming here?” Mingyu asks quickly. Wonwoo pulls his boyfriend off the table and turns to Joshua. 

“They’re okay.” Joshua smiles. He wonders if everyone can see the blatant relief on his face.  _They’re okay._

“Seungcheol wants to take Jeonghan to eat something first and then, we’ll see them.” He relays the captain’s message.

Everyone relaxes visibly, sinking into their respective chairs.

It is after a long moment of shared silence that Jun asks, “takeaway, anyone?”

 

* * *

 

Jeonghan doesn’t say a word when he gets into Seungcheol’s car and neither does the baseball captain. The air between them feels raw, vulnerable. A lot has been said and a lot more will be said — but for now, they eat.

Reaching over to take one of Jeonghan’s cold hands, Seungcheol asks, “what do you want for dinner?”

The blonde blinks back at him surprised. 

“Are you hungry?” Seungcheol asks with a smile.

“N—" 

They both pause to stare at his stomach as it growls on cue. Jeonghan turns a brilliant shade of red and Seungcheol laughs. He laces their hands together and nods.

“Let’s eat.”

Seungcheol drives out of Pledis and to the family restaurant he’d taken Jeonghan before. He releases their hands a few times to shift gears but otherwise, Jeonghan’s hand is laced with Seungcheol’s. It feels like the blonde has something to say but it doesn’t come.

They reach the restaurant in a few short minutes and in just a few more, they’re seated at a table at the corner. It’s after usual dinner hours so the place is less crowded from when they first came.

“We came here on our first date.” Jeonghan says with a tiny smile.

“Yes, the day you almost died.” Seungcheol nods seriously. It elicits a cheeky chuckle from the blonde and Seungcheol smiles. That’s all he wanted to see — Jeonghan laugh.

“Order whatever you want, angel.” He nudges the menu towards Jeonghan.

“Even my two bottles of soju?” Jeonghan grins.

“If you’re getting two, I’m getting two.” Seungcheol decides, folding his arms across his chest. Jeonghan purses his lips for a moment and the shakes his head.

“No. Not today.” The blonde sniffs.

“No?” Seungcheol asks, surprised.

“No.” Jeonghan repeats, “I want to remember today.”

When the waitress comes to take their order, she doesn’t comment on how shy the both of them look at each other.

They order  _bossam_ and promise each other not to play games with their food. Seungcheol piles on the boiled pork onto Jeonghan’s lettuce and mouths  _eat._ Their late dinner is quiet. Both of them eat silently — only breaking when either one occasionally gives the other more food, or asks the other to drink.

It is not at all uncomfortable.

In fact, it feels like there is so much to say they don’t know where to start. It is only when their bellies are full and the bill is paid that Jeonghan says, “please can we go to the place you fell asleep at?”

Seungcheol nearly chokes remembering how he fell asleep on their first date. Not his finest hour. “Of course.”

They round the back of the restaurant and walk quietly, hand in hand until they reach the familiar grass patch.

Jeonghan lies on the grass and fold his hands over his stomach. Seungcheol laughs when the blonde looks at him expectantly. He complies, lying down as well.

They spend a long while staring at the night sky. Neither of them keep track of the time — they left their phones in the car.

“Thank you.” Jeonghan whispers. His eyes are still turned to the sky. 

Before Seungcheol can reply, he continues, “for staying with me and listening to what I had to say.”

Jeonghan turns his head towards Seungcheol. “I don’t think I could have done it without you.”

Seungcheol lifts a hand to ghost the side of Jeonghan’s face. Instead of replying, he just nods.

“I’m sorry I flipped a coin on our first date. That was kind of rude.” He whispers, “I didn’t really want to go on a date. I didn’t think I would ever go on a date again actually.”

Seungcheol rubs a thumb over his cheekbone.

“But I’m glad I did.” Jeonghan murmurs.

“Me too.” Seungcheol smiles.

“I’m sorry about today.”

“You have nothing to apologise for.”

“No, I do. I wasn’t honest with you from the start. And I made things difficult — more complicated than necessary. I could have just told you th—“

“I love you.” Seungcheol says. Jeonghan’s words cut at his lips as he stares at the baseball captain. His beautiful eyes are wide with surprise.

“W-wha—“

“I love you.” Seungcheol repeats despite the way Jeonghan has completely frozen in shock. “I don’t think I have ever loved anyone as much as I love you.”

“Seungcheol,” Jeonghan breathes.

“I want to protect you always even though I know you can protect yourself. I want to be the person you can lean on and trus—“

Jeonghan leans forward and presses a kiss to Seungcheol’s lips, catching him off-guard. “Okay.”

Seungcheol’s pulse quickens. He thinks that’s the first time Jeonghan’s ever kissed him first. He doesn’t know what to do with that information. He just stares at the blonde in awe. He stares for so long that Jeonghan gets embarrassed.

“Stop that.” The blonde gasps, covering Seungcheol’s eyes with his hand.

“I’m sorry.” The captain says immediately, earning him a laugh.

And then — Jeonghan presses another kiss to Seungcheol’s lips. Hand still covering his eyes, Jeonghan kisses him slowly, sweetly. The soft presses turn into gentle sucking — and then Seungcheol is slipping his tongue into Jeonghan’s mouth and licking him. The blonde pants, moving away just slightly so he can whisper against Seungcheol’s lips, “take me home.”

 

* * *

 

The drive home feels like it takes forever when really, it’s just ten minutes away. They barely make it past the front door. It’s a bit hard to move when Jeonghan is kissing him. The blonde will be the absolute death of him. Seungcheol’s mind is almost blanked out — filled with nothing but Jeonghan.

Seungcheol spins the blonde against the door, pressing his lips against his as he fumbles with his keys unseeing. After a few failed attempts he unlocks his house and they both stumble in. Jeonghan gasps at the lose of balance but Seungcheol catches him easily. 

“Hold on.” He murmurs, pulling away to lock the door after them. When it is secure, he flings his keys on the table by the door and takes two steps to close the distance between he and Jeonghan.

He holds either side of the blonde’s face and kisses him.

“I told Joshua I’ll take you home after dinner.” Seungcheol murmurs against Jeonghan’s lips.

“Tell him I’ll come home tomorrow.” Jeonghan reaches for Seungcheol shirt and yanks it off the captain’s head. When the material pulls off, Jeonghan drops it to the floor and pulls Seungcheol back to him.

“I don’t know where my phone is.” Seungcheol gasps.

“I’ll tell him later.” The blonde reaches for Seungcheol’s belt and his fingers work quickly.

“Wait.” Seungcheol says, clasping his hand over Jeonghan’s. Every  _other_ part of him screams at himself. Wait? Seungcheol is about to fucking explode, he doesn’t want to wait.

“Let’s go upstairs.”

 

* * *

 

The sight of Jeonghan sprawled on his bed stuns Seungcheol. He’s hit with an overwhelming wave of affection for the blonde. He almost chokes from how much he feels. All Seungcheol wants to do it make Jeonghan feel so loved he forgets everything that’s ever happened before.

He drops his elbow by the side of Jeonghan’s head and snakes his other arm around his waist. Not once does Jeonghan look away from him. Seungcheol locks their gazes together and then stills.

“Are you sure?” He asks.

“Yes.” Jeonghan nods, “I want all of you.”

That’s all Seungcheol needs.

He catches Jeonghan’s bottom lip and sucks on it gently, devouring the sigh that escapes the blonde’s mouth. Seungcheol is going to take his time. He kisses Jeonghan slowly, lazily — drawing out all the little sounds from his mouth. All the sighs and gasps, Seungcheol licks them up.

Every sound is precious and Seungcheol savours them all. He kisses Jeonghan’s cheek, his jaw, and then trails a line of kisses down his neck until he reaches the base. Seungcheol bites down gently making Jeonghan squirm under him, and then licks at the mark. He swirls his tongue in an unhurried pace, tasting every bit of Jeonghan’s skin.

“Seungcheol—“ Jeonghan gasps.

“Mmmm.”

“Hurry u—p,” the blonde whines. Seungcheol stills where he’s busy showing love onto the spot on Jeonghan’s neck.

“Okay.”

He moves back up to look at his blonde. One of his hands slip beneath Jeonghan’s shirt, running over the naked skin and relishing in the way Jeonghan’s eyes flutter close. Seungcheol has to remind himself this is real. Everything about Jeonghan feels  _unreal._  

Seungcheol pulls Jeonghan’s shirt over his head and then — stops to marvel at the blonde.

“Stop,” Jeonghan flushes red.

“You’re perfect.” Seungcheol shakes his head.

“I’m not.”

Seungcheol touches Jeonghan’s chin, thumb pulling his lips slightly apart. “You’re perfect to me. 

Then he leans down to kiss his sweetheart. He kisses Jeonghan like how Seungcheol handles most things, with care and undivided attention. He kisses him again and again and  _again_ until they’re both breathing heavily and the room temperature kicks a notch higher.

It is only then that Seungcheol reaches down to undo Jeonghan’s pants. He makes quick work of the button and then he’s sliding the jeans off and flinging them to the floor. He crawls back over Jeonghan and kisses him hotly.

Seungcheol is determined to take this slowly. As much as he’s already straining painfully in his jeans, the need to please and love Jeonghan as best he can,  _wins_. He slips a warm hand under the band of Jeonghan’s boxers and watches the blonde lean his head back onto the pillow — mouth slightly agape.

He palms Jeonghan’s length gently, making the blonde hiss and jerk upwards at the contact.

“Shhh,” Seungcheol murmurs against his cheek. He pumps a few light strokes before thumbing the tip

“ _Cheol_ ,” Jeonghan groans, “don’t play with me.”

Seungcheol shakes his head, kissing Jeonghan’s neck. “I would never.” He removes his hand despite the sound of protest that Jeonghan makes and hooks his finger at the band of his boxers, pulling it down.

Jeonghan doesn’t have time to feel shy. Seungcheol drops his head down to his chest, kissing a lazy line down his torso while he bunches he sheets in his hands. He only realises he’s holding his breath when Seungcheol closes his mouth over his length.

“Mmmnnhh,” Jeonghan gasps, hips jerking on reflex. Seungcheol holds him down gently, but firmly at the waist as he begins to suck. The feeling of Seungcheol’s mouth shuts Jeonghan down. It’s so hot and so wet he has to stop himself from thrusting into it. He reaches for Seungcheol and runs a hand through his hair — back arching as Seungcheol pumps him in a lazy rhythm.

The coil in his groin tightens excruciatingly slowly. Jeonghan feels warm all over and it feels so  _good_. He tries to push upward but Seungcheol’s grip is firm. It’s frustrating. He wants to —

“I— I want to feel you.” Jeonghan’s voice is rough from arousal. “I want to feel all of you.”

Seungcheol’s mouth stills where it’s sucking a pleasure spot but his hand continues to pump mercifully. Jeonghan dares to nudge the captain’s head further down — just a little — until Seungcheol understands.

It flicks a switch in Seungcheol and when his mouth moves downwards to where Jeonghan’s is waiting, the blonde whimpers. Seungcheol licks along the edge before swirling his tongue and pushing pressure. Jeonghan groans, grabbing a fistful of Seungcheol’s hair. If it hurts, Seungcheol doesn’t comment on it. 

Seungcheol works slowly, lovingly — teasing Jeonghan into relaxing and then he pulls away, planting a kiss to the inside of Jeonghan’s thigh. He leans over the blonde to reach for the bedside drawer and pulls out a bottle of lube.

Jeonghan closes his eyes and listens to the cap pop open. He’s suspended in anticipation for a few seconds. Hot and flustered, the pleasure coil in his groin is starting to unwind, much to his frustration. Before he can protest, he feels Seungcheol kiss his mouth. Jeonghan sighs into it. He wants Seungcheol everywhere. He wants to be surrounded by him and him only.

He who looks upon Jeonghan with so much love and adoration — unrivalled by everyone. Seungcheol is like Jeonghan’s beacon of light. How he stood by him without question, without judgement — Jeonghan wonders if the burning warmth he feels in his chest is love. Is it?

Jeonghan pulls Seungcheol down closer to him. He will never let him go. He’s about to tell Seungcheol — tell him that he loves him — but he feels a finger press against his entrance and Jeonghan’s mind blanks. He kisses Seungcheol harder as he wills himself to relax. He wants it and he wants it now.

When Seungcheol gently pushes in, Jeonghan squirms. It stings a little but he just wants Seungcheol to hurry up. The feeling of Seungcheol rubbing at him, trying to get him to relax only frustrates him.

As if the captain senses it, he pulls his lips away from Jeonghan to whisper — wet against his ear.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

Jeonghan shudders. It runs through his body as Seungcheol’s low voice replays in his ears. It’s it then that Seungcheol curls his finger — Jeonghan gasps at the spark of pleasure shooting up his spine. He wonders if the moan he just heard is his. It  _must_ be because Seungcheol does it again and Jeonghan almost cries.

“I’m ready—“ Jeonghan rasps, trying to press down onto Seungcheol’s hand.

“No,” Seungcheol shakes his head, licking lazily at his ear lobe. “Not yet.”

Jeonghan opens his mouth to argue but Seungcheol is pushing another finger in and suddenly, he can’t breathe. It takes a few moments of pushing and pulling before Jeonghan feels both fingers in him.

“ _Seungcheol —“_

“Yes, angel.” His voice is levelled by the thickness of it gives away Seungcheol’s own arousal. All it does is fuel Jeonghan. He wants to be with him.

“ _Please—“_ Jeonghan gasps as Seungcheol sissors his fingers slowly. He feels pleasure pool at his groin but it’s too mild to be satisfying. When Seungcheol manages to push a third finger in, there’s a sheen of sweat on Jeonghan’s skin. He feels so hot. His skin feels like it’s scorching and his insides feel like they’re on fire.

Seungcheol licks a stripe up Jeonghan’s neck as he curls all three of his fingers. He sets a gentle rhythm that has Jeonghan whimpering and squirming. It’s not long till he starts seeing stars.

“aannhh— S- _seungcheol — ple— nnnh_!” Jeonghan eyes roll to the back of his head as Seungcheol cradles him with his free hand. He shudders, biting his bottom lip as he arches off the bed. The captain kisses the moans from his mouth as Jeonghan comes in a slow, cascading wave — spilling over his belly.

Seungcheol holds him throughout his orgasm, murmuring sweet endearments in his ears and peppering kisses over his forehead like he is the most precious thing. Jeonghan feels his energy drain from his limbs, turning his body into a heated, satisfied mess.

“Sweetheart,” Seungcheol whispers, “are you okay?”

“Mmmm.” Jeonghan mumbles, reaching for him blindly with his eyes closed. Seungcheol moves to him and Jeonghan wraps his arms around his neck.

“I love you.” He finally says.

Seungcheol doesn’t respond so Jeonghan forces his tired eyes open. He’s immediately floored by the sheer tenderness and adoration in Seungcheol’s eyes. The captain doesn’t even need to say anything.

“I love you.” Jeonghan says again, just because he feels like it, “make love to me.”

Seungcheol stares at Jeonghan unmoving for a minute — and then he lifts himself off to sit on his haunches. He moves to unbuckle his belt and the metal clicks as he works through it. Their eyes are locked onto each other as Seungcheol pulls his belt off. The motion is swift, fluid. It ends when the belt drops to the bedroom floor.

Then Seungcheol is undoing his jeans and kicking them off the bed. Jeonghan feels his breath catch when Seungcheol thumbs his own boxers off. His throat goes dry at the sight of Seungcheol naked and staring at him with an intensity that should frighten.

It doesn’t frighten. All it does is relief Jeonghan of his previous tiredness, replacing it with a nervous anticipation. He watches as Seungcheol tears a condom open with his teeth. Jeonghan feels his cock jump a little at the sight. It’s difficult not to react when Seungcheol looks like a wet dream.

After the condom is carefully rolled on, Seungcheol crawls over him to kiss him. They’ve been doing that a lot. Kissing. But Jeonghan doesn’t think he will ever tire of kissing Seungcheol. He thinks he could do it forever. Seungcheol pushes his tongue into Jeonghan’s mouth, licking every bit of him until Jeonghan is panting and whimpering under his touch. He’s almost hard again.

Amidst their kissing, Jeonghan feels a heavy heat against his thighs and his brain frazzles. He glances down and swallows thickly. Seungcheol is — Oh — Jeonghan thinks he feels a little faint.

Noticing his concern, Seungcheol murmurs, “I’ll be gentle.”

“I know.” Jeonghan nods. He  _knows_. “I’m not scared. I’m going crazy waiting for you to hurry the fu—“

Seungcheol clamps a hand over his mouth and clicks his tongue playfully. “You kiss me with that mouth?”

Jeonghan darts his tongue out and licks at Seungcheol’s hand. The captain growls at that. He grabs on of Jeonghan’s legs and hooks it over his shoulder. It pulls a gasp from the blonde. Seungcheol laughs a low purr before leaning over his darling.

“I will always —“ Seungcheol whispers as Jeonghan moans. He can feel the heavy, blunt head of Seungcheol push into him. Jeonghan can’t breathe. His lungs are on fire. His hands reach out to pull Seungcheol’s face close to him.

“ _Always_  love you.” Seungcheol finishes as he buries himself fully into Jeonghan. The blonde can barely speak. He feels so full — so full of Seungcheol. Inside and outside. Surrounded by his love and filled by him. Jeonghan thinks he might cry.

Maybe he is crying because Seungcheol begins to whisper soft words of comfort in his ear. He feels Seungcheol brush a thumb below his eyes. “My love.”

Jeonghan wants to respond. He really does. He wants to claim it, Seungcheol’s endearment — but he can’t. His words are stolen right out of his mouth when Seungcheol kisses him again. Jeonghan starts shaking. He can’t help it — not when Seungcheol pulls out slowly just to push back into him.

The moan that leaves his lips is mixed with the remnant of a sob. It doesn’t stop Seungcheol. Instead, the captain sets a lazy pace that makes Jeonghan see stars every time he’s buried to the hilt.

His previously discreet whimpering turn into louder, more uncontrolled moans. Seungcheol feels so  _good_. He’s stretching Jeonghan so beautifully and hitting that sweet spot — Jeonghan thinks he will never ask for anything more. Seungcheol is all he needs.

“You feel like a dream,” Seungcheol groans against his neck. His breath feels hot against Jeonghan’s skin. It only makes Jeonghan that little bit more urgent. He can feel the pleasure coiling in his belly.

“Nnnhgggh—“ Jeonghan squirms, jerking his hip up in a desperate move. Seungcheol holds him down gently.

“Shhh,” the captain whispers, “I’ll take care of you.”

Jeonghan groans frustrated, “ _please—“_

“Yes darling.” Seungcheol pulls out to slam a little rougher into him. Jeonghan moans a dirty sound before clamping his hand over mouth in embarrassment. Seungcheol shakes his head as he pulls out slightly — pausing to move Jeonghan’s hand away. “Let me hear you.” Seungcheol murmurs, snapping his hips against Jeonghan.

The blonde cries and Seungcheol devours the sound. Latching his lips onto Jeonghan’s and licking into his hot, wet, mouth. Jeonghan is losing his mind. Every time Seungcheol thrusts against him, he feels like he’s floating. He’s so close. The coil in his groin twists as he climbs his orgasm.

“Come with me,” Jeonghan begs, whimpering against Seungcheol’s mouth. The captain nips at his lower lip and sets a slightly punishing pace. It has Jeonghan arching off the bed and groaning.

“ _Seungcheol,”_ his breath is coming in short, sharp inhales. He’s so close.

Seungcheol grips Jeonghan’s waist with one hand and pushes his blonde fringe away from his face with the other. Then he locks his gaze onto Jeonghan as he pumps an unrelenting, throbbing pace that has Jeonghan curling his toes.

“Nnmm— aannhh,” Jeonghan gasps, grasping frantically at Seungcheol. He just wants to be close to him. Near to him. Even while making love he wants to always, always be close to him. Jeonghan can feel Seungcheol’s hips stutter. He’s close too.

They come together as Seungcheol drops his forehead onto Jeonghan’s — their sweat mixing with each other — he feels the muscles along Seungcheol’s back tense.

And then, Seungcheol bites down onto Jeonghan’s neck as the blonde moans into his orgasm. He shivers in Seungcheol’s embrace as the captain jerks his hips forward, kissing his sweet spot before groaning against Jeonghan’s skin. Jeonghan relishes in the warmth he feels inside him.

“I love you.” He mumbles, pulling at Seungcheol until he leans down to kiss him.

“I love you.” Seungcheol echoes back, pulling away for just a fraction of a second. He rubs at Jeonghan’s waist gently as he pulls out, wincing at the sensation of over-sensitivity.

Jeonghan watches exhausted as Seungcheol disposes of the condom and grabs a few towels from the bathroom. He crawls over Jeonghan to clean the cum off his belly before flinging them into the laundry basket and settling down next to the blonde.

It’s almost disgusting how Jeonghan gravitates towards Seungcheol and he him. Seungcheol wraps his arms around the blonde and tangles their legs together. He presses a soft kiss to Jeonghan’s sweat slicked brow.

“Are you okay angel?”

Jeonghan buries his face into Seungcheol’s neck and sighs.

“Never been better.”

 

* * *

 

“We did a bad.” Jeonghan groans into the pillow when he wakes up. Seungcheol quirks a brow at him and then his face crumples in horror. The pair stare at each other and shout at the same time, “ _JOSHUA_.”

It’s a mad rush out of their love nest. Jeonghan almost trips over the duvet that’s been flung on the floor. Heck!!! He almost trips over half their clothes littered in a dangerous minefield.

“Where’s your phone???” The blonde turns to Seungcheol urgently. The captain flusters, “I don’t know??? Where’s yours????”

Jeonghan hops on his feet and yells.

“I’m going to check the car, we left it in the car!!!!” 

Seungcheol watches Jeonghan hurry out the bedroom and yells after him, “ANGEL PUT SOME CLOTHES ON.”

“CAN YOU THROW ME MY PANTS?????”

 

* * *

 

They’re sat in Seungcheol’s car in guilty silence. Jeonghan clutches his phone to his face, typing furiously.

Seungcheol glances over at him before pulling his eyes back onto the road. “Is he replying??”

Jeonghan turns to look at him with a look of despair. “Cheol, we’re going to be grounded for life.”

“Don’t say that.” Seungcheol whispers, horrified.

“We are.” Jeonghan’s face blanks, “This is our life now.” 

Seungcheol makes a sad, pathetic noise and Jeonghan just nods in agreement. They reach Jeonghan’s in under five minutes and then it’s a mad scurry out of the car and into the lift lobby.

“He didn’t call me at all.” Jeonghan swallows, “That’s bad. Yes that’s definitely bad.”

“He called  _me_ …….” Seungcheol mutters in horror, staring at his phone.  

“Oh….” The blonde’s jaw drops slightly open. Then he clamps it and presses himself on the opposite wall of the lift from the captain. “I love you but you’re on your own this time.”

Seungcheol chokes. “You’re kidding.”

“Do I look like I’m joking.”

 

* * *

 

Jeonghan cringes as he unlocks his door — bracing himself. He envisions Joshua sitting on a wheelie chair, waiting for them to come back only to turn dramatically at them with an unimpressed face and perhaps, a cup of tea in hand.

Okay, he’s exaggerating but he wouldn’t put it past his best friend.

He pushes the door open as quietly as he can, pausing once to shoot Seungcheol a panicked look. The captain shakes his head frantically. Jeonghan inhales a breath and opens the door fully.

It’s quiet and despite it being eight in the morning, the house is dim. Joshua’s drawn all the curtains. Jeonghan tip toes into the apartment and signals for Seungcheol to close the door quietly behind him. It really feels like they’re sneaking in now.

This is Jeonghan’s house for god sake!

But no — none of you understand Joshua’s fury.

Jeonghan peers around quickly and then he’s stands, overwhelmed by the scene in his living room. There are a few snuggly familiar faces sprawled on his living room floor — asleep.

He brings a hand to his mouth at the precious sight. He almost coos. Jeonghan turns to Seungcheol, face softening. Everyone stayed over  _waiting_  for them.

Seokmin is cuddled into a corner with one of Jeonghan’s teddy bears. Next to him, Mingyu’s leg is throw unceremoniously over Wonwoo’s torso. Jun and Minghao are on one side of the couch. Jun looks like he might slip off any moment but Jeonghan notices the careful hand Minghao has wrapped around him.

And — Joshua lies peacefully on the other side of the couch.

Jeonghan is running and throwing himself onto his best friend before he can think this through.

“Oof—“ Joshua gasps at the sudden weight against his chest. Jeonghan giggles and buries his face into Joshua’s neck.

Joshua cracks a tired eye open, lifting his head slightly off the couch. He sees Seungcheol first, grinning at him. And then he looks down to see Jeonghan snuggling him.

“There you are.” He murmurs, eyes crinkling at the corners. He turns to look at Seungcheol and they share a moment of mutual love.

Then — Seungcheol is flinging himself in between Mingyu and Wonwoo causing both of them to yelp in surprise.

“Hyung!!!!!” Mingyu gasps, immediately awake. He tries to get up but Seungcheol’s weight holds him down so all he can do is try to wiggle out.

Wonwoo runs the sleep from his eyes and stops to smile at Seungcheol. “Hey man.”

“Hey.” Seungcheol grins, taking the hand that Wonwoo has held out for him.

The rest start to stir at the commotion. Jun  _really_ falls this time — landing on the floor with a thud and a groan. Minghao jolts from his sleep and turns to the floor in panic.

“Babe are you okay?”

Jun mumbles something incoherent and Minghao sighs.

“I told you we wouldn’t fit on the couch.”

“JEONGHAN HYUNG!!!!!” Seokmin yells. The sleep cracks his voice and everyone laughs but he’s too busy trying to get in on the snuggle party that Jeonghan and Joshua have going on.

Seungcheol watches them from where he’s lying on the floor and laughs breathlessly.

“I can’t believe you guys.” Jeonghan’s voice comes suddenly hard and serious. Everyone pauses to look at him as he pokes his head out from under Seokmin’s arm.

“Why wasn’t I invited to this sleepover?”

 

 

 

 

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I said everything I wanted to say but I want to thank everyone who followed this story. Thank you for all your sweet comments and words of encouragement! They made this entire fic a pleasure to write. 
> 
> Thank you! I love you all.  
> Have a super, wonderful week ahead! 
> 
> Come talk to me on twt or curiouscat @citrusyghost <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Feedback is appreciated and savoured.
> 
> Talk to me on [ twt](https://twitter.com/spicychoi) or [ cc](https://curiouscat.me/citrusyghost) ꈍᴗꈍ


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